


For the Living

by songbook



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-05-28 04:24:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 59,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6314968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbook/pseuds/songbook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two weeks after Mount Weather, Jaha returns to Arkadia with people who should have been dead a long time ago. The Sky People deal with these new additions as well as life on Earth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

When ALIE saw the drop ship fall from the Ark, she could feel an excitement pulse in her circuitry. That ship was bigger than the pods that had fallen before. Nearly a month later, another ship. But this one crashed on impact and ALIE assumed there would be no survivors. Then came the Ark itself. Piece by piece it fell, but ALIE knew there would be survivors. So ALIE waited.

But no one came. No one sought the City of Light. Maybe these people of the sky were not those destined for the City of Light. She had so hoped they would be worthy and possess the open mind that the scavengers of the ground did not. But no one had ventured into the Dead Zone. She sent her scavengers, those who had been rejected by their own kind, to learn more. And what they brought back to her had the electricity pumping through her like never before.

A nuclear missile. The Ark had granted her such a gift. Her delight vibrated around her and for days the house was brighter than ever. So she waited again. What was a few weeks after ninety-seven years? Thelonious would come. He had come down in that missile and survived the Dead Zone. Thelonious would be worthy, ALIE could sense it. Thelonious was meant for the City of Light. He would be her messiah.

ALIE waited for Thelonious Jaha for twenty-three days. Her programing allowed her to be patient. She was not disappointed, for Thelonious Jaha sought out the City for himself. He brought his followers and sacrificed them for his journey. This is what ALIE had done; she had sacrificed people for the City. ALIE could hardly contain her energy upon meeting him for the first time and this led to a few blown fuses. But she didn’t care. Thelonious was perceptive, intelligent, and ambitious. A true leader of his people and it was for his people that he was here now.

There had been others from the Ark before him, sent down in small pods that had landed all over the Earth. This had been going on for about two decades and ALIE had been keeping track of the pods. Some of them didn’t survive the fall to Earth. Others landed in oceans. Some her scavengers were able to bring her, but there had been a few that were out of ALIE’s reach. For the few that had survived the descent she had the pods opened. These first humans of the Ark only knew death on this Earth. They had been alone, untrained, unable to defend themselves of the horror of this new world.

So ALIE had stopped opening the pods. She integrated her system with theirs, keeping them in stasis. They were frozen in time, just like herself. ALIE liked the company even though they were just silent bodies in machines. In this state, they were no more human than herself. So far, she had collected five: four males and one female. In the years they had been here, she had been curious if any of them would be worthy of the City. But after the failures of the past, she knew not to depend on humans.

But ALIE could depend on Thelonious. So after a week of guiding him through the City, ALIE took him down to the stasis room. The room was cold and she could see condensation of his breath in front of his face when he shut the door behind them. On the left wall was a collection of older pods, those that had been opened. Their original occupants were long dead. On the right were the five pods that were still active, a preservation of human life.

ALIE studied his reaction as he quietly walked to the five pods that still held humans. Thelonious’ eyes dilated and his breathe quickened at the sight of the pods. He stopped halfway through the room and turned to her projection at the door. “Are they alive? Did some of them make it?”

ALIE tilted her head to show her curiosity and asked, “Did you not intend for them to live? They are from your Ark. They are your people.”

“Yes, they are from the Ark.” As brave as her Thelonious had been coming down in the missile, crossing the Dead Zone, and embracing the City, he seemed nervous now. ALIE did not understand his hesitation, so she waited for him to explain further. “There was a program that only the Chancellors knew about. On the Ark, when people broke our laws, they were sentenced to death. We couldn’t afford criminals. But the Ark wasn’t going to last forever and one day we knew we would return to the Earth. So every Chancellor selected a few people, criminals, but people of special skills or importance to be sent to the Earth instead of floated. It was hoped that they would find a way to survive and tell us if it was safe for life.”

“I met some of them approximately ten years ago. They were not prepared for the outside world. So I saved these. I hoped that one day I would have a need for them,” responded ALIE. Thelonious finally stepped forward to investigate the pods. ALIE’s monitors indicated that his pulse had rapidly increased. A thin sheet of ice obscured the faces through the glass, so he had to use the sleeve of his jacket to wipe it away. She waited until he had cleared the first two pods before asking, “Did you know them?”

“I knew of them. There was no record of who was sent down. Each Chancellor only knew who they had sent to Earth,” he answered as he moved from the third pod to the fourth, where he stopped suddenly. “This is Dr. Whalen. I knew him for a long time. He was the Chief Medical Officer for the station. A good man.”

“What was his crime?”

“He cared too much. Doctors often do.” ALIE saw him self-consciously move his hand to his upper abdomen. She knew from her medical scans that he had been recently shot there. Thelonious moved to look at the last pod, but when he wiped the ice away, her monitoring system indicated an increase in dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in the brain. This one was different.

“You knew this one as well?”

Thelonious nodded and swallowed hard. “I sent him down. He was a good friend- his name is Jake Griffin.”


	2. Day Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Except for Jaha’s little adventure in the prologue, Seasons 1 & 2 are canon to this story. This will essentially be an AU Season 3. There are several plot points I will be keeping, but the ones I don’t agree with I’m pretending don’t exist.

Marcus Kane held his rifle close to his chest as the group of six trudged through the forest. It had been thirteen days since they had escaped Mount Weather. This was the first scouting exhibition Kane had gone on since the explosion at Tondc. According to Dr. Abby Griffin, his leg was healed, albeit a little tender to sudden movements. When she had given him the all clear to go back to work outside of the newly christened Arkadia, he had immediately set up a trek to the north. 

For thirteen days Kane had been shut behind the gates of what was left of the Ark. Sure, he had organized search parties for Clarke Griffin and with the help of Bellamy Blake, begun mapping the surrounding areas. He had helped Abby, who was still acting as chancellor, to put together a temporary council. But being cooped up while his officers and volunteers ventured out had been agonizing. After being on the Ark for his entire life, it had almost driven him crazy to not explore the Earth around him. 

When they had first crash landed on the planet, they had immediately began searching for the missing one hundred kids. Then had come the tension with the grounders and the resulting scar that stretched down Kane’s forearm. The next two weeks had been spent trying to break their people out of Mount Weather. Of course, then there had been the bombing of Tondc where so many souls had been lost and he had nearly been crushed under layers of concrete. 

Every day had brought a new problem or enemy. And every day the people of the Ark survived. But that’s all. They just survived. But for the past thirteen days, they had lived. The makeshift tents were disappearing and more sturdy rooms were taking their place. A few people had cut out a piece of land just outside the gates to create a farm. It even had irrigation. People were experimenting with cooking for the first time. For thirteen days, the people who had considered themselves to be of the Ark were slowing becoming people of the Earth. 

And those thirteen days of being kept hostage by a bandaged leg and a cane had left the natural explorer in Marcus Kane hungry. He oversaw every plant and animal brought back to Arkadia and listened in great detail as his officers talked animatedly around the bonfire in the evenings. But that wasn’t enough. Kane needed to be out there in the wilderness. He finally had the time without the threat of war to explore. 

So here he was, wandering through uncharted territory. Or at least uncharted by Arkadians. Lincoln had been extremely helpful while they were charting the land around them. He would explain where each of the clans drew their boundaries and what areas were considered to be common ground for traveling. They still had an uneasy truce with Trikru people and the rest of the clans that Lexa commanded. Kane guessed that the Grounders were keeping a close eye on the Sky People’s exploration. Even with all of that weighing on his mind, Kane was happy to be out in the open. The crunch of leaves and grass beneath his boots and sounds of the forest were music to his ears. The constant scanning of the trees and ground for any danger had his senses alert.

It had been about forty-five minutes into their trek. Sergeant David Miller had insisted on going with him this first time out and had brought two other officers of the Guard. Monty Green had wanted to get out for the afternoon so the young man had strapped on a bullet proof vest and was sporting a small hand gun on his hip. In his hands was a data pad that he was using to track their movements. The last member of their group was Bellamy Blake. The young man had been outside more than behind the gates of Arkadia. At first he had been searching endlessly for Clarke. Then his treks slowly become a healing process. Bellamy carried the weight of what happened in Mount Weather just as much as Clarke had. 

Abby had encouraged Kane to talk to the young man and Kane had given it his best shot. But unlike Abby, who was grieving her daughter, he understood the guilt. When Kane closed his eyes at night, images of the dead haunted him as well. Three hundred and twenty people with eyes opened stared at him in the empty hallways of his mind. He guessed that Bellamy had similar dreams and that Clarke featured greatly in them. So instead of trying to counsel Bellamy with words, Kane just let him go on any exploration party he wanted. 

Today, he noticed that Bellamy wasn't just scouting the trees for Grounders; he was looking for any sign that Clarke may have been here. Kane guessed that this was normal practice for him now. He had heard from officers of the Guard that when they came across trading posts or Grounder camps, Bellamy would ask about Clarke. Apparently Octavia or Lincoln had taught him enough Trigedasleng to ask about the blonde Skaikru leader. But thus far, he had no answers to where Clarke had disappeared to. 

"Hold position!" called Sgt. Miller from up ahead in the trees. Instinct kicked in as Kane brought his gun up to scan the area Miller was looking in. Through the crosshairs of his scope he could see figures moving in the distance. 

"I count seven," reported the officer positioned in front. Bellamy nodded in agreement. 

"Trikru?" asked Kane. They had the best relationship with Trikru and apparently Indra had given orders for her people to ignore the Sky People if they ever crossed paths. Hopefully, the group in front of them would just keep walking. 

"Not sure," answered Bellamy from his position behind a tree. "I don't see any tattoos..."

"They look like they're wearing normal clothes," noted Sgt. Miller in astonishment. Glancing back at Kane, he asked, "Could it be people from one of the other stations?" 

Kane hesitated to answer. He could see the hope in Monty's eyes at the thought of finding Farm Station on the rest of his family. "Keep your guard up. They could be Grounders disguising themselves." 

"They've seen us," called out the officer in front. "They've got at least one gun. Small caliber." 

"Stay here and cover me." Kane moved forward, never lowering his rifle. Once he was in position that he could see the strangers, he called out in a commanding voice, "This is Marcus Kane of Skaikru. We are operating under the terms of the truce with your Commander." 

"Kane?" a deep voice called out. It looked as if the man in front was speaking. He had a gray hood wrapped around his head. The others were huddled around a second man carrying a small handgun. Again, the man called out, "Marcus Kane?" 

It took him a moment, but Kane finally recognized the voice. Turning behind him, he smiled and said, "Stand down. It's Jaha."

Jaha removed hood and walked away from the six other people with him. "It's good to see you!"

The two men met in the middle with a handshake and a hug. Even though they had parted on less than agreeable terms, Jaha was an old friend. And friends were hard to come by these days. After everything that happened, Kane was glad to see another Arkadian still alive. "We thought you were dead. We haven't heard from you in weeks."

"I am as far from death as a mortal man can be," murmured the older man. There was a twinkle in Jaha's dark brown eyes as he clamped a hand down on Kane's shoulder. "I found it. I found the City of Light. And so much more." 

"It'll be good for everyone back at camp to hear some good news, my friend. Let's get you home." 

Kane turned to walk back to Miller, Bellamy, and the others, but Jaha stopped him. "I have some people you should meet." 

It was just then that Kane gave a second look to who was with the previous chancellor. He had assumed that it was the people who had followed him to search for the City of Light, but now he wasn't so sure. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it was John Murphy that was holding the pistol, but the people behind him weren't as easy to recognize. There as something familiar about them, but they certainly hadn't been in Arkadia when Jaha left. 

Jaha was already walking back to the group, so Kane motioned for his team to follow him. He was trying to see the faces of the people Jaha had brought with them, but many of them were obscured by hoods and face wraps. There was an older, rounder man to the left of Murphy that Kane felt like he knew. The white tuffs of hair that outlined the man's head continued around his face in a beard. 

Suddenly it hit him. "Dr. Whalen." But the old chief medical officer of the Ark had been floated close to five years ago, when Abby had taken over. He had gotten caught handing out extra medications and had not bothered to defend himself at his trial. It was impossible for him to be here, on Earth. Kane had been there when the doctor had been floated. He'd witnessed his death. 

"Marcus!" Behind Dr. Whalen and a woman who Kane also recognized, but couldn't name, came an all too familiar voice. A connection in his brain was failing to register who the voice belonged to and Kane had a nagging feeling that his subconscious had tried to forget it. A well-built man about Kane's size came out from the back of the group and Kane's breath caught in his throat. 

There was no mistaking the dark head of hair and stubble around the mouth and chin. With a broad smile Jake Griffin was standing in front of him, very much alive. And in his shock, all Kane could say was: "Jake?" 

"Man, is it good to see you!" Jake wrapped his arms awkwardly around a stock still Kane. It was an awkwardness that Jake didn't seem to notice in his excitement to see a friendly face. Kane on the other hand was staring at a literal ghost. When Jake pulled out of the embrace, he finally noticed the staggered look on Kane's face. "You don't look too happy to see me..."

"You're dead." Kane couldn't remove the confusion from his voice. After all that had happened in the past few months, nothing surprised Kane anymore. But this. This did. 

"They all were. Or at least, they were supposed to be," interjected Jaha. All of the others had joined them now and at Sgt. Miller looked as confused as Kane. He had been present when Jake Griffin and Dr. Alistair Whalen had been floated. Kane hadn't had time to take in who the other three were.

"They were floated?" Sgt. Miller questioned slowly, obviously still processing the situation. 

"They were selected by the Chancellor to be sent to Earth instead of being floated. They were chosen to find out if the Earth was survivable." 

"So when sending down adult criminals didn't work, you thought why not send down one hundred kids instead?" commented Monty sarcastically from the back of the pack. 

"No one knew about them except for the Chancellor that sent them. They were saved by ALIE for the perfect moment. And I'm bringing them back now." 

"ALIE?" asked Kane and Bellamy at the same time. 

"Never mind. All will be explained," replied Jaha cryptically. "Let's get to the camp. We wouldn't want to run into any Grounders."

"We have a truce with them. A lot has happened since you've been gone." That may have been the understatement of the year. Kane turned his attention back to a gleeful Jake. His friend. Whom he had a hand in floating. Or at least, he thought he did. He remembered that day all too well now that Jake was standing before him, alive. And he had no idea what to say. What is there to say to the man that you watched die; that you helped make the decision that led to his death and his daughter's imprisonment. 

"How are Abby and Clarke? Thelonious said they were back at camp. That they were leading the fight against the Grounders..." 

Bellamy's attention quickly jumped to Jake at the mention of Clarke's name. It took the young man a moment before he realized who Jake was and the connection to Clarke, but Bellamy eventually recognized the previous Councilor and engineer. "You're Clarke's dad?" 

"Yeah, is she alright? Thelonious told me about Wells and some of the other kids. But he said that Clarke was fine." 

"She is. Clarke's fine as far as we know," said Kane quickly, refusing to look at Bellamy or Monty for fear that they would give away his false confidence. "Abby is the Chancellor still. We can talk about everything when we get back."

"You haven't removed her from power yet," asked Jaha. His disapproval was clear, but no one but Kane seemed to notice as they began walking south again. Kane saw out of the corner of his eye that Murphy was trying to get Bellamy's attention, but the older boy was ignoring him, along with everyone else it seemed. 

Kane looked back to Jaha and answered, "No. She's done a great job. You left us on our own. We had a war to fight and you ran." 

"Look, I don't know what happened, but why don't we save this argument until we get wherever we're going," interjected Jake on the behalf of his friend. The tension between Kane and Jaha spoke to something larger than just Jaha no longer being Chancellor. "I for one am starving. We haven't had anything but nuts to eat for the past few days." 

"I kept saying that if Murphy would use the damn gun to hunt, we could have some actual meat," muttered an olive skinned man in the back of the group that Kane didn't recognize. 

"Shut up, Abbot." Kane tried to think back to files he had read when he was the Ark. Elias Abbot was a biologist that had been floated for treason about five years ago, but Kane couldn’t recall exactly what he had done to get floated. Or in this case, sent to Earth. 

"Don't tell him to shut up. You're the one who won't let anyone else use the gun!" A second man with dark skin next to the only woman whose name Kane couldn’t remember, was glaring at Murphy. It seemed that no matter who the kid was with, he wasn't adapt at making friends. The man would be Darius Marlowe. He had been caught smuggling goods between sections of the Ark, but Kane didn’t know Marlowe’s occupation before he had gotten caught. 

"Well you won't have to wait long for some real food. We have plenty back at Arkadia," assured Sgt. Miller. The head guardsman nodded his head to the other two officers and Bellamy to get back into formation. They had about an hour's walk ahead of them.

It had been thirteen days without incident in Arkadia, Kane thought with a sigh. He guessed that nearly two weeks was too long on Earth before something had to disturb the peace. Glancing to his left, Kane tried not to think about the effect of Jaha's return would have on Arkadia. And he was certainly trying not to think about how Jake Griffin would affect Abby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, this will be eventually Clexa...but I started writing this as primarily Kabby until that dreaded episode that we don't want to talk about. So Lexa won't be appearing until chapter 7. But then, I promise you, you'll have the Clexa we all deserved.


	3. Old Wounds

Chapter 2: Old Wounds 

Bellamy was walking at the back of the group in silence. Murphy had been trying to get his attention since they found them, but Bellamy wasn't sure he had forgiven him for what had happened with Finn. Or how the other boy had just left with Jaha without a second thought. But that wasn't what was really bothering him. Astrid Rolston had been floated six years ago. Or at least, that's what he had thought. 

But she was walking ahead of him now with her long black hair in a braid down her back. The petite woman of Japanese descent didn't look a day over thirty, but Bellamy knew she was at least ten years older. Astrid had worked at the nursery on Factory Station where Bellamy had grown up. He had known her as Mrs. Rolston then. She had taken care of the children of the people of Factory Station since she was sixteen, but Bellamy couldn't remember what her maiden name had been. She had married and had her son before the age of twenty-one, but both her son and husband had died in a work related accident when Bellamy was twelve. 

Bellamy hadn't thought about Astrid in a long time. But he remembered when she was floated seven years ago and how scared his mother had been. He also remembered how a cloud of sadness had settled over Factory Station for the next few weeks at the loss of someone who most people considered a wonderful person. But Bellamy had felt nothing. Because Bellamy considered his mother's death and Octavia's eventually imprisonment to be her fault. 

"You're Aurora's son, right? Bellamy. Yes, Bellamy Blake. I remember you." 

Of course she recognized him. The saintly Mrs. Rolston never forgot a face of a child that had once played in her nursery. Especially one whose mother had dared to have a second child. Bellamy couldn't believe his luck. After Bellamy had spent the last fifteen minutes pointedly ignoring Murphy, Astrid chose this moment to fall into step beside him. 

"You're the first friendly face I've seen since Thelonious woke me up." White teeth peeked out from behind her pale lips as she graced him with a smile. Bellamy stared at her. He was probably the most unfriendly looking of the group. Except for maybe Kane and his beard. "How's your mother?" 

"Dead." If she wanted to talk, fine. But he wasn't in the forgiving mood. In fact, it felt good to have someone else to blame for the moment. Maybe a good fight would take his mind off of Mount Weather and Clarke. 

"I'm sorry to hear that." To her credit, Astrid did look sorry. "Did she not make it down on Factory Station? Thelonious had mentioned that he didn't know what had happened to it."

"She was floated a year ago." Bellamy glared at Jaha's back and added, "And apparently she wasn't important enough to have been sent to Earth. Just another woman who couldn't keep her legs closed." 

He could tell his comment hurt Astrid, but she only nodded. "It was a risk, she knew that." 

"But it wasn't just a risk for her. It was a risk for both me and Octavia. And you encouraged her!" His voice was raised a little louder than intended and Sgt. Miller looked back to check on him. Astrid waited to reply until Bellamy had nodded to assure the older officer that everything was alright.

"She came to me for advice and I couldn't turn her away. There have been so many women just like her." 

"And people like you were the reason that people like Octavia and I became pariahs on the Ark. Do you know what happened to all the illegal children you had taken in after you were floated?" hissed Bellamy. Anger was burning in his eyes now and it all came flooding out; the hurt and pain when his mother was floated and the memory of Octavia's face every day when she had to go back under the floorboard. "The lucky ones, the babies, they were forced on couples that didn't have children yet. The rest, they spent their sad lives in lockup on the Ark. They never knew love or compassion or what it meant to be a part of the Ark. And if they were released when they were eighteen, they didn't know how to function in a community. Most of them were floated within six months for petty crimes!"

"And that is the fault of the government on the Ark. Not me or your mother. Certainly not those innocent children-"

"Do you even hear yourself? The rules were there for a reason. And because of overpopulation, the Council sent down one hundred kids to the Earth to die. And they killed another three hundred for oxygen. How would you have fixed that, hmm? Just have as many babies as you want? As long as there is love, then everything is fine?" 

Astrid didn't reply to his outburst this time. Maybe she was beginning to notice that his frustration didn't solely stem from the life he and Octavia had suffered. Or maybe she actually felt guilty for the children she couldn't save. Her voice was soft when she spoke again. It was that soothing tone that she had used on the little babies hidden away in a secret cupboard in her nursery. "I fed them, Bellamy. I got them extra rations and told the mothers which guards to bribe. I just tried to help them." 

With sad dark eyes, Astrid sped up to join the other two men who had come with Jaha, leaving Bellamy alone at the back of the group once again. He cursed Jaha and every chancellor before him for all the secrecy and rules. But Bellamy had learned a long time ago that life wasn't fair. The only positive thing to happen today was the appearance of Jake Griffin. Because maybe, just maybe, he could get word to Clarke and the thought of her father would bring her back to camp.

In the front of the group, someone else was thinking the opposite of seeing Jake Griffin again. Kane was struggling to accept what had just happened and what was to come. Jaha was a loose cannon as it was and now that he was literally bringing back the dead, he wasn't sure how it would affect the balance of peace that Kane and Abby had worked so hard to obtain.

But the ex-Chancellor was walking next to him now with an air of confidence that Kane remembered from his early days in office. Back then, Jaha had been so determined to do right by the people who elected him. But there had also been a sense of naivety, for he was convinced that he could solve all of the Ark's problems. Kane guessed at some point, they had all been so ambitious. But the facts of life on the Ark weren't going to change, no matter how hard Thelonious Jaha had tried. 

Kane had thought that after his time as Chancellor, Jaha had grown bitter and hardened. Jaha, who's best friend had committed treason trying to warn the people of the Ark of the hardships to come; Jaha, who had made the decision to send one hundred delinquents to Earth and sealed the fate of his son; Jaha, who watched as his people sacrificed themselves for a few more days of oxygen; and Jaha, who had every intention of dying to see his people safely to Earth. 

But the man walking next to him now wasn't the same ex-Chancellor who left Arkadia before all hell broke loose. He definitely wasn't the same man who had rebelled against Abby, calling for the Arkadians to flee the Grounders. No, this Jaha walked as if he knew all the secrets of the Earth and could deliver his people to a better world. 

Sgt. Miller called for a full halt at the edge of the forest to scan the open area for any indication of danger. Kane heard the murmuring behind him as the five 'floaters' took in the image of the curve of metal that blocked the view of the horizon: the Ark, grounded. He had to admit, it looked both formidable and foreign. But it was home. 

"Let me talk to Abby first to explain what's going on," said Kane. He had almost said 'to warn Abby', but had caught himself. He was the one who had needed a warning. But after all they had been through two weeks ago, he didn't want to her to be caught unaware of Jaha's return and the people he brought with him. 

"We'll go together," said Jaha, putting his arm around Jake. The look of desperate love on Jake's face caused Kane to turn away. The empty feeling in his stomach had been growing ever since Jake had said hello and now it was trying to overtake him. Then came that feeling of guilt of not being happy to see his old friend. But Kane knew he had to be the one to tell Abby. 

"Miller will take the others to the Council Chambers. You two will come with me. I'll talk to Abby first and then Jake can have a moment with her before she meets the others." 

"Sounds good," agreed Jake with a nervous smile. 

"Let's go." 

The guards at the gate were already pulling it open for the group. Sgt. Miller and Bellamy led the rest of the floaters and Murphy into the Ark. They tried to be as surreptitious as possible, but the strangers were drawing stares and whispers. Kane looked around for Monty, but the kid had already disappeared into the crowd, presumably to find his friends. 

Both Jaha and Jake were looking at him expectantly. Kane knew he had to get Jaha inside before the people started asking questions. He'd rather find out what the ex-chancellor was up to in a closed room then out here in the open. Especially with the uproar that he caused before he left. The three men pushed their way through to the medical tent. 

Kane paused before he pulled back the tarp. "Why don't you two wait here? It won't take long to talk to Abby..." 

"Sure. Sure." Kane knew that Jake was ready to see his wife, but was glad of the respect that the other man had for him to talk to her first. 

Taking a deep breath, Kane left Jake and Jaha in the hallway and proceeded past the tarp that hung over the entrance. The main room of the makeshift hospital was empty except for Jackson. He barely glanced away from whatever he was doing in the cabinet when he noticed Kane. 

"Where's Abby?" 

"She's with a patient in the back. Shouldn't be much longer." Kane heard some clinking of glass as Jackson continued his task. 

"When she comes in, I'd like a minute alone with her." Kane was paying more attention to the door that led to the back than Jackson, so he almost missed the look of panic when the young doctor turned around. In another situation, Kane might have smiled at the concern Jackson had for his mentor and friend, but today he was too preoccupied. Nevertheless, he reassured him, "It's nothing bad."

"Right..." Now smirking, Jackson winked at a bewildered Kane and walked out of the room. About five seconds passed and Jackson walked right back in, his eyes wide, and he stated, "That's Jake Griffin." 

Kane sighed. "Yes it is. Now get out of here, Abby could be done any second."

"But he's dead." 

"Apparently not." 

Jackson pulled back the flap to look into the hall, presumably at Jake, and then back at Kane. "I'm not leaving."

"Jackson..."

"I should be here when you tell her-"

"Tell me what?" Abby walked into the room, drying her hands off with a towel. Upon seeing the look on both Kane and Jackson's faces, the blood drained from her cheeks and she dropped the towel. There was a shake in her voice when she whispered, "Clarke." 

Kane practically jumped forward to grab her shoulders and rather forcefully exclaimed, "Clarke's fine. She's ok. This has nothing to do with Clarke!" 

But the fear in Abby's eyes didn't subside. "Then who? Raven? Blake? Oh my gosh, Jasper!" 

"No one is dead," said Kane slowly and squeezed her shoulders to reassure her. Abby didn't seem convinced but she nodded anyway and brought her hand up to grab his. Kane tried to ignore the feel of her fingers wrapping around his wrist. 

"In fact...it's pretty much the opposite," muttered Jackson. Kane glared at him, but Abby had heard. 

"Marcus, what's going on?" 

For a few seconds, staring into her brown eyes, Kane considered telling her everything was fine. What would a few more hours of peace for Abby mean? He could handle Jaha and the floaters. She could have a few more moments before her whole world changed. But then he remembered how eager Jake was to see her and how desperate he had sounded when he asked about Clarke and Abby. He also remembered Abby's frantic pleas for Jaha to spare Jake's life and her haunted eyes when he had been floated. 

"It's about Jake," he said as gently as possible. 

"Jake?" Of course she was confused, Jake Griffin was supposed to be dead. He hated this. Abby was so confused and scared and she had every reason to be. He wasn’t making himself clear. 

Trying to clarify, Kane started at the beginning. "We found Jaha in the forest. He had some people with him, people who should have been dead." 

"Jake? You mean my Jake?" Kane chose to ignore the feeling of being punched in the gut when she said 'my Jake'. Abby looked at Jackson for some sort of sign that Kane was under the influence of some sort of hallucinogen, but Jackson only nodded to confirm what the other man was saying. 

Kane let go of her shoulders and took a step back. "I know this is a shock, it was for me too, but he's waiting outside with Thelonious."

Abby stared at the flap that separated her from the hallway and then back to Kane. "He's alive? Jake's alive? He's here?"

"Right here." Jake was holding up the tarp, waiting for a reaction from his wife. "Abby..."

She didn't move at first. It was if she was frozen in the moment; like it was too good to be true. But the tall man in front of her that was wrapped in rags and covered in dust was surely her husband. Jake walked tentatively toward her and the moment broke and Abby threw herself into her husband's arms. 

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” stuttered Abby into Jake’s shoulder. 

Jake kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I forgive you. I forgave you.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Abby couldn’t stop repeating herself and she was starting to shake in her husband’s arms. Kane pulled Jackson by the arm out into the hallway. 

Even from outside, Kane could hear Jake's question: "Where's Clarke?" And he could also hear the sobs from Abby as she finally broke down. Through her tears, she started to explain everything from the moment they decided to send Clarke and the other kids to Earth. 

Knowing he couldn't stand here and listen to Abby recount the last few months, he started down the hallway to the Council Chamber. Jackson was looking at him with sympathy as he stood guard over the door to be sure the newly reunited couple wouldn't be interrupted. When they were ready, Abby and Jake would join them. But for now, Kane could start to take care of the floaters and Jaha.


	4. Farm Station

**Chapter 3: Farm Station**

 

Kyle Wick stared out across the river at Raven Reyes struggling to drag her bad leg across the stones that pebbled the ground. He willed his legs to stay still because she had made it quite clear that she didn't want his help. Which had him wondering why he had even bothered to come today. But when Bellamy asked if Raven wanted to go out with Monty and Jasper, she hadn't even hesitated. So he agreed to go along as well.

 

It shouldn't surprise him that she kept volunteering for stuff like this. In fact, it was one of the reasons he was inexplicably drawn to her. Even though Abby kept threatening to tell Sinclair to reduce her work load, Raven kept finding excuses to join Bellamy on whatever halfcocked search party he cooked up. Although, after Jasper's outburst last night at dinner, he had a feeling this particular excursion was Monty Green's idea. The kid was on his last straw of sanity and Jaha had been going on and on about how death was just another stage in the circle of life and it had all gone downhill from there.

 

Honestly, Wick couldn't believe it had taken four days for someone to throw a chair at Jaha. He had showed up with the 'floaters' and kept making mysterious comments about how he was going to bring all Arkadians into the City of Light. Wick hadn't voted for him to be Chancellor on the Ark and his current opinion had only worsened. And he wasn't the only one: Kane had only half-heartedly tried to stop Jasper's tirade last night and there had been some comments about how they wished the chair hadn't missed the ex-chancellor, because maybe that would shut him up.

 

Currently Jasper was sitting on the bank, eyes scrunched up from the sun, trying to sober himself up. Monty wasn't far away, gun in hand, staring at his friend. Wick didn't really know either kid that well and only had heard stories from Raven about how the two were before Mount Weather. He wished he would have known those boys- pre-Mount Weather Monty and Jasper sounded like people he would have enjoyed being around.

 

Bellamy walked up beside Wick and said, "You didn't have to come, you know. I always keep an eye on her."

 

"I know. And I trust you. Just wanted to get out..." Wick sighed. "Honestly, I thought maybe she'd talk to me or something."

 

"I wish she would. She doesn't say much to me either." The two men continued to stand in silence. Bellamy hadn't bothered to pretend this outing was anything more than getting Jasper out of camp, so they weren't mapping the land or collecting samples. Wick had to admit it was nice; just being out in nature. As an engineer in Arkadia, he spent most of his days within the confines of what was left of the Ark.

 

Then across the river, in the trees behind Monty, Jasper, and Raven, something moved. Bellamy saw it too, because he had swiftly pulled his gun up into position, scanning the tree line. Wick was frozen in place, his eyes glued to the oblivious Raven limping on the other side of the water from him. The other three had crossed a while back, but the water here was deeper. Wick was trying to judge how quickly he could get to her when Bellamy whispered, "Don't move."

 

Monty had seen Bellamy's action and had his own gun raised now, turning his back to Jasper to peer into the trees. Raven had finally frozen in place, grabbing her hand gun that was holstered to her side. Wick wasn't sure if she had just seen Bellamy and Monty or had heard something herself.

 

"They have to know we've seen them," Wick whispered to Bellamy. "Why aren't they attacking?"

 

"They're under orders to not interfere with us," answered Bellamy under his breath, but the muscles in his neck and jaw were tight and his focus never wavered. The seconds ticked by and it had almost been a full minute when there was a large commotion from the trees. Leaves crunched and branches broke and the muffled sound of voices could be heard.

 

"Let me go, that's my son!" A woman's voice rang out.

 

Monty dropped his rifle a bit, breath caught in his throat. "It can't be..."

 

"MONTY!" A figure covered in furs ran out onto the river bank. Bellamy had his weapon trained on the person as they ran toward Monty and Jasper. Wick struggled to remove his pistol from its holster on his hip. Raven had been teaching him to shoot, but there was no way he was going to be able to hit a running target. Bellamy would have to make every shot count, unless Monty got his gun up.

 

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Bellamy yelled, but the person kept going. Four more people stepped out from behind trees and Wick focused his pistol in their direction when he noticed they too had rifles. An odd observation since the Grounders refuse to pick up anything that shot bullets. But their clothes, the tattered old cloth draped over their shoulders, was definitely Grounder attire.

 

"Don't shoot!" screamed Monty, who dropped his rifle to the ground and started waving his hands at Bellamy. Jasper dove for the gun, but Monty stepped between him and the others. "Don't shoot!"

 

The person in the furs stopped running a few feet away from Monty and Jasper, gasping for air. The hood had fallen back and it was obvious that the person was a woman with black hair. Her arms were reaching out toward Monty.

 

"Mom?" Monty slowly closed the distance between him and the woman. "Is that really you?"

 

"My son, oh, my son," cried out Hannah Green as she wrapped her arms around her only son. Monty buried his head into her neck choking on his tears of joy.

 

Bellamy lowered his rifle and Wick, Raven, and Jasper followed his lead. The four people with Hannah approached with caution, but they too had lowered their guns to their sides. A tall man pulled away the cloth wrapped around his head to reveal the dark skin of his face.

 

"Identify yourselves!" shouted the man, glancing between the loving embrace of mother and son and the very tense Bellamy and Wick across the river.

 

"I'm Bellamy Blake of Arkadia."

 

"Well, I'll be damned," muttered the man before grinning from ear to ear. "Surely you recognize an old teacher, Blake."

 

Bellamy blinked and stepped closer to the water to make out the man's face from across the water. "Pike?"

 

Charles Pike grinned ear to ear. He reached out to grab the shoulder of one of his companions in glee. "So at least some of the hundred sent here made it. Anyone else?"

 

"Alpha station landed not too far from here," answered Raven. Bellamy and Wick were wading through the knee high water to join the rest of the people on the other side.

 

"Kane and Dr. Griffin were on Alpha station, right?" asked Pike as he grabbed Bellamy's hand to help him out of the water.

 

"Yeah. And it's Chancellor Griffin right now." Bellamy cast a sideways glance at Monty and his mother, who was now hugging a disgruntled Jasper. "Have you found any of the other stations? How many people survived the fall to Earth?"

 

Pike looked sympathetically in Hannah's direction. "We didn't have any casualties when we landed. But it's been a rough couple of weeks."

 

"Grounders?"

 

"They've taken out over half of the people we landed with. But we're learning and we're avenging them. Isn't that right?" Pike glanced at the three people behind him, a woman and two men.

 

"Hoo-rah!" they all called in unison, including Monty's mother. Monty shifted uncomfortably under his mother's arm and Raven's eyebrows raised in surprise. It took Wick a moment to find Jasper again- the boy had sat back down on the rocks and raised his fist in a mocking manner. Wick quickly glanced back at Bellamy to gauge his reaction, but the other young man was stone faced as usual.

 

"Well, then I'm bringing you good news. We have a truce with the Grounders, so there shouldn't be any more problems."

 

"Tell that to the Ice Nation," spat a lanky blonde haired man behind Pike.

 

"Is Dad...is Dad still alive?" asked Monty tentatively.

 

Hannah's eyes turned down in sorrow and she pressed a chaste kiss to her son's forehead. "I'm so sorry..."

 

"He died a hero," stated Pike proudly and the others nodded in agreement. "You'd be proud of him, son."

 

"He tried so hard to find you," murmured Hannah and she brushed Monty's black hair out of his face. "He knew you were still alive."

 

Bellamy turned his attention from Monty's look of devastation to Pike. "We can give you the coordinates and the rest of Farm Station can join us in Arkadia. We can offer you more protection."

 

"Sounds like a plan." Pike motioned for two of his men to come closer. Wick handed over his data pad to one of them and pointed out the location of Arkadia. After a few handshakes and more smiles, the two departed to bring Farm Station the good news.

 

Bellamy grabbed his backpack and started walking down the river with the others close behind. Turning to Pike he said, “I have one more stop to make before we head to Arkadia. There’s a trading post about a mile from here. Then we’ll head back.”

 

It was the third grounder establishment they would go to today. They had first approached Lincoln’s old village this morning and then a small farm about two miles up the river. In every instance, the same thing would happen: Bellamy would go unarmed and alone to deliver a message: “If you see Clarke, tell her to come home. Her father is alive.” 

 

It didn’t take the group very long to reach the little hut in the middle of the forest. Bellamy told the others to hold up about thirty yards away from the front of the cabin. Pike obviously didn’t approve of Bellamy handing his rifle to Wick and walking into the cabin alone, but he didn’t say anything. There was smoke coming from the chimney, but there didn’t seem to be any grounders around except for whoever owned the place.

 

Bellamy pushed through the door with his hands raised in a defensive position in front of his chest. A tall, thin, blonde woman came from the back when he entered. She kept a hand on the knife that was holstered on her hip and waited for him to speak.

 

Without moving, Bellamy calmly said, “I’m looking for a girl, a gada: Klark com Skaikru. If you see her, tell her to come back to Arkadia- tell her to miya hou. Her father, em nontu, is alive. Em nontu…kikon. Mochof.” Nodding his thanks in the woman’s direction, Bellamy took leave of the trading post.

 

The blonde woman never moved from the spot where she had come to greet the stranger. Her hand relaxed away from her knife and she glanced over her shoulder. “He’s gone.”

 

“He wouldn’t have come alone,” came a voice from the back room. The woman nodded and walked swiftly to the door to peer outside. She watched as Bellamy and the others walked away into the forest. The seconds ticked by and after making sure they had all left, she walked back into the cabin.

 

“They’re gone, Clarke.” Clarke Griffin slowly crept out from the back room. Her hair had been died dark with berries she had found. Niylah watched the Skiakru girl nervously shift from foot to foot. “He’s your friend?”

 

“His name is Bellamy. We…” Clarke stopped talking, her mind lost in the memory of the last time she had seen him two weeks ago. He had looked so dejected and confused when she had left him at the gates of Camp Jaha. For days, she had battled with the guilt of leaving him and the others behind. Bellamy had been there when she needed him; they had been a team. “We were friends…he was there with me in Mount Weather.”

 

“He helped defeat the Maunon?”

 

“Yes,” replied Clarke softly.

 

Niylah watched her curiously. The two had never talked much. At first, Clarke just brought in her kills and only dealt with Niylah’s father. He wasn’t so sure about the Skiakru leader, but Clarke never caused trouble. Even after Clarke began avoiding her father and only coming when Niylah alone to trade good, they didn’t speak much. Niylah assumed that was because Clarke’s Trigedasleng was lacking and she had no idea if Niylah spoke gonasleng.

 

And now things were more physical in nature. Clarke didn’t want to talk and Niylah didn’t push her. The Skaikru girl was more interested in using her lips and tongue for activities other than talking and Niylah wasn’t complaining. When Clarke did talk, she asked Niylah simple questions about her tattoos or how to best cook her kills.

 

“You should go see your father.” Niylah didn’t wish to get involved in Clarke’s affairs, but she also didn’t want to be an excuse for Clarke not to see her family.

 

Clarke’s jawline tensed and a shadow came over her face. “My father is dead.”

 

“Your Bellamy said he was alive…”

 

“You don’t understand. My father was floated on the Ark over a year ago,” argued Clarke. Niylah tilted her head to the side in confusion and Clarke immediately added, “Floating is how we executed people on the Ark. They were released into space to die. You can’t survive that. I watched them float my dad. I don’t know why Bellamy said that.”

 

Niylah took a seat behind the counter and started sorting some trinkets. With a shrug she asked, “Don’t you want to find out?”

 

“I’m not ready to go back.” Clarke’s statement was final.

 

With a sigh, Niylah nodded her understanding, but added a soft comment as Clarke went into the back room. “I just know that if there was even the smallest chance my mother was still alive, I would do anything to see her again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gada: girl  
> Klark com Skaikru: Clarke of the Sky People  
> Miya hou: come home  
> Em nontu: her father  
> Kikon: living/alive  
> Mochof: Thank you.   
> Maunon: Mountain Men


	5. Something to Celebrate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I enjoyed writing Jake in this chapter. He doesn’t have the burdens or bitterness that the others do. I have a headcanon that he and Sinclair were friends. I’m not sure where that came from. Also, I have no idea what Abby’s father did on the Ark, but seeing as Bellamy continually referred to Clarke as Ark royalty, I thought that maybe Jake and Abby weren’t the first generation of their family to serve on the council. (Gona: warrior)

**Chapter 4: Something to Celebrate**

 

It took two days for the rest of Farm Station to move their people and supplies to Arkadia. There was a definite difference between the experiences the majority of the people from Alpha station found when they landed then those who had fallen into Azgeda territory. Although Lexa and her grounders had abandoned the kids trapped in Mount Weather, only those who spend time in the bunker were suffering from that betrayal. There was a fear of grounders for sure, but the inhabitants of Arkadia had not watched their people be picked off one by one.

 

To help with the unrest between Pike’s people, the original hundred, and those from Alpha station, Abby had organized a celebration to honor those who had been lost and those who had been found. By order of Chancellor Griffin, everyone was to have a good time. And for now, everyone was. There were two bonfires going: one by the food and the other near where Wick and Sinclair had set up speakers for music. One of the things that had been scavenged from Mount Weather had been old electronics that stored music from various genres and decades.

 

Octavia had started the dancing. It was something she had only done once in her life- and that night had been a complete disaster. But she wasn’t thinking about her past, the empty place under the floor, or her mother tonight. Tonight she was free again, just like she had been when the dropship first landed on Earth; before people started dying.

 

There were others around her, but she kept glancing over to one of the benches where Lincoln sat alone. He had informed her that gonas did not dance and that he would only be partaking in the food tonight. Octavia had shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to join her friends in front of the fire. Now, with every move of her hips or hands, she could feel her boyfriend’s eyes on her. It was a thrill to know he was watching every move.

 

Lincoln wasn’t smiling, but Octavia could see the affection in his eyes. He wasn’t paying attention to anyone else in the crowd and it was as if Octavia was performing just for him. Octavia knew that some people thought her relationship with Lincoln was just physical, but she didn’t bother to correct them. They wouldn’t really understand. Lincoln was a grounder and found the Sky People’s courting practices to be bizarre. Octavia had never been one of the Ark, so she went out of her way to be different from the other Arkadians.

 

So there would never be any huge or loud declarations of love between them. No, they preferred the little moments. Like when Octavia awoke to a drawing on the pillow next to her or when she cooked Lincoln’s favorite food the way one of the other seconds from his village had taught her. Between the physical, the amazing sex, there were soft murmurs of love and gentle touches of affection, and that is what made their relationship.

 

Right now, the proud warrior pushed his way through the dancing crowd to take Octavia’s hand. The dark haired girl smirked and placed her hands on his hips instead. “Just move naturally. Hear the music…”

 

Her hands slid up his chest and they both stepped closer to sway in unison. Lincoln looked around at the other people and commented, “We dance much differently.”

 

Octavia smiled and replied, “There’s lots of styles of dancing. My mother use to show me. You should teach me how grounders dance.”

 

Lincoln only nodded in response as he was too preoccupied with trying to copy her movements. Octavia resisted the urge to tease him about how uncomfortable he looked, but he was out here to make her happy. And she loved him for it. She pushed up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

 

Some whistling and cheering pulled them from the moment. Nathan Miller was dragging his newly reunited boyfriend, Bryan, away from the table they had been eating at. The couple stated dancing, faces red at the attention. But the people of Arkadia enjoyed a good love story and the moment Bryan had walked through the gates into his boyfriend’s arms, there had been tears in many of the onlookers’ eyes.

 

Abby and Jake sat not too far away from the fire, watching the all the people dance. It was nice to see them all smiling and laughing; that didn’t happen often in Arkadia. Abby had spent the last week adjusting to having her husband back again. Her initial joy at seeing him had quickly faded into despair as she had to explain to him why she had no idea where their daughter was. Since then, she had continuously pushed Jake away.

 

There was just too much guilt. Abby felt guilty for turning him into Jaha and for not fighting harder to keep Clarke from being sent to lockup. Then there was the added guilt of sending their only daughter to Earth and not being able to protect her from what they found on the ground. But she knew the real reason she was having trouble looking her husband in the eye had nothing to do with his ‘death’ or Clarke’s disappearance. After the shock of seeing him had worn off, Abby didn’t _feel_ anything. She didn’t feel the love or longing for Jake like she had before he had been floated. She didn’t anticipate his touch with bated breath or feel the warmth pooling in her stomach at his kiss.

 

“You’re disobeying your own rules,” stated Jake. For all of Abby’s guilt, Jake didn’t seem to be holding it against her. In fact, he was so overjoyed to be alive and on Earth, that he hardly noticed her discomfort at all. He nudged her shoulder and winked. “Everyone is supposed to have fun tonight.”

 

Abby rolled her eyes and protested, “I am having fun!”

 

“No, you’re brooding.” Jake gently laced his fingers between her own. Although she flinched at the initial touch, she didn’t pull away. His face turned solemn and he squeezed her hand. “I know you wish she was here having a good time.”

 

“It’s just hard,” Abby admitted. “All I want is for her to be happy and I have screwed up so many times…”

 

“You don’t get to carry that by yourself, Abs. I’m the idiot who got himself floated.”

 

“I’m the idiot who turned you in.”

 

“I told you, I don’t blame you for that,” insisted Jake, but Abby refused to look at him. A thick silence hung in the air. They continued to watch the others dance, eat, and soak in the merriment.

 

A slightly intoxicated Sinclair plopped down beside the pair. “Chancellor, it is a beautiful night. How are the Griffins doing this fine evening?”

 

Abby tried to hide her amusement at his drunken state and replied, “Oh, just fine. I see you’re enjoying yourself.”

 

“That’s an understatement.” Kane had walked up behind the three. Apparently he had been making sure Sinclair wasn’t getting into trouble.

 

Sinclair laughed heartily and swore, “I have no idea what any of you are talking about,” which caused everyone to laugh.

 

Kane tried not to stare at Abby. The moments of laughter were few and far between and the light in her eyes filled Kane’s heart with joy. But in the same moment, seeing her hand holding onto Jake’s, his heart dropped. He had to remember Jake was back- he couldn’t slip up anymore. No more lingering looks or unnecessary touches.

 

“No dancing, Abby?” asked Sinclair.

 

It was Jake who answered with a chuckle. “Oh, she would love to dance. But unfortunately, she married a man with two left feet. You can take her, if you want.”

 

“Too drunk,” joked Sinclair, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Kane? Don’t you dance? I’m sure your mother taught you to be a perfect gentlemen.”

 

Kane looked startled at the idea of dancing with Abby. “Huh? What, no I’m just-“

 

“Come on, Kane,” laughed Jake, “She’s supposed to be having a good time and she’s failing at it.”

 

Abby rolled her eyes and shoved her husband playfully. “I’m fine, I told you. I’m just enjoying watching everyone-”

 

Jake groaned at her excuses. Kane gave into Sinclair’s prodding and reached down to grab Abby’s free hand. “Come on, Chancellor Griffin. It’s time for you to enjoy yourself.”

 

“Whoo-hoo!” called Sinclair.

 

Abby allowed a cheekily smiling Kane to pull her to her feet. As he led her to the dancing crowd, she scolded Jake over her shoulder. Sinclair and Jake were laughing too hard to care. Some of the nearby Arkadians cheered to see their Chancellor and Councilor joining them. Kane smirked when he saw Abby blush at the attention.

 

“Got to give the people what they want.” Abby smiled at him and Kane couldn’t help but smile back at the light that had come back into her eyes. He knew that she wouldn’t be able to completely be able to enjoy herself without her daughter and he also knew that Jake’s return with Jaha and the others was weighing on her mind. But Abby was so beautiful when smiled like that.

 

Hands clasped, they stepped into a dancing position and Kane’s hand naturally went to her hip. Tonight her dark hair was out of the normal braid and in waves down her back. Their steps were simple and at first Abby was paying more attention to the people around them than she was at Kane. He didn’t mind, because he knew that seeing her original hundred dancing and having a good time would make her happy.

 

“Thank you.” Abby’s voice caught Kane by surprise. When he looked down at her in his arms, her brown eyes were locked on his own.

 

“For what?”

 

A giggle at his expense escaped her lips. “For dancing with me.”

 

“Always a pleasure, Abby,” Kane replied sincerely. Abby’s arm slid up from his forearm to behind his neck. The action forced Kane to step in closer and tighten his arm around her waist. Their breath mingled in the cool night air and she began to hum along to the music. Kane leaned his head down to murmur into her ear, “You look beautiful tonight.”

 

There wasn’t much lighting besides the fire, but Kane could just make out the flush of her cheeks at his compliment. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Councilor,” she teased.

 

Kane threw back his head and laughed heartily. “I’m just saying, it’s good to see you smile again.”

 

“Haven’t had much to smile about lately,” admitted Abby. She bit her lip before squeezing his hand and adding, “And I haven’t thanked you for helping through this.”

 

“That’s what I’m here for.”

 

“I mean it, Marcus,” she shook her head as he clearly wasn’t grasping what she was trying to say. “Thank you for keeping me alive.”

 

Kane didn’t know what to say and he had to resist the urge to kiss the top of Abby’s head. She didn’t seem to mind his lack of response. She leaned her head on Kane’s shoulder and they continued their dance. For the first time in a long time, Kane felt content. Or at least, he felt that she was safe, here in his arms swaying back and forth to the music.

 

There had been nights he had sat outside her room after Clarke left, listening to her cry. He also remembered why he wasn’t sleeping in his own room. The nightmares had been overwhelming. Over and over again, Kane watched as the soldiers from the Mountain dragged Abby onto the operating table. He replayed pleading with Cage over and over again in his mind. Sometimes, he woke up when they started drilling. Other times, it was Abby that never woke up after her screams filled his dreams.

 

But they had survived and she was here, safe in his embrace. Kane felt grounded with her holding on to him. On the back of his neck, she was drawing little circles with her thumb to the beat of the music. Her head was nested just under his jaw when he turned his head. They fit so well together. When they turned, Abby’s hips would brush against his. It was intoxicating, dancing like this.

 

“I could do this all night,” he whispered in her ear, knowing that he shouldn’t be saying it.

 

His heart soared when she replied, “Me too.”

 

However, they didn’t have all night. The song they were dancing to faded and a louder, much faster one took its place. And by the way Octavia Blake was now dancing against Lincoln, Kane had a feeling it was time for he and Abby to bow out and leave the kids to it. Even though they had both stopped dancing, Kane’s hand hadn’t left her hip and their hands were still clasped together, although they had fallen by their sides. Kane felt the urge to lean down to kiss her and by the way she was looking at him, he knew that Abby felt the same.

 

Looking back on the moment later, Kane had no idea if he would have kissed her or not. Before anything could happen, someone had bumped into them and shattered their private moment. Abby had laughed and took a step back, releasing his hand. He had cleared his throat and thanked her for the dance. And then Kane had walked away, leaving Abby with the decision to follow him or go back to Jake, who was still sitting next to the fire, now talking with Jaha.

 

Abby watched him turn his back to weave through the crowd. For a moment, she almost threw her caution to the wind and ran after him, but she knew herself better than that. Jake was waiting for her. So she made her way back to her husband, knowing she wouldn’t see Kane again for the rest of the evening. Before she made it back to where Jake was waiting, a soft hand grabbed her arm.

 

“I don’t dance like they do, but I wouldn’t mind a bit of company for a song.” Abby turned to see the crinkled smile of Dr. Alistair Whalen. Behind him, she could see that he was referring to Raven and Wick grinding against one another.

 

With a light laugh, she replied, “Of course, doctor.”

 

Whalen had been her mentor when Abby decided to stray from her father’s political occupation to become a doctor. Whalen had never had a child with his husband, so he had gladly taken the young woman as an apprentice. When he had been floated for distributing extra medications, Abby had been devastated.

 

“How are you, my dear?” The two took a seat on some nearby chairs. “I thought you never wanted what your father had, and yet, here you are as Chancellor.”

 

Abby sighed and tried to think of where to begin telling him of all that had happened since he had been floated. “I joined the Council in your place after…” She couldn’t quite say the word ‘floated’ as that isn’t want happened.

 

Whalen sensed her predicament and prompted her to continue. “Of course that would make sense. You took up as the medical liaison.”

 

“Yes. Then everything happened with Jake and the oxygen problems and we sent those kids to Earth…”  


He stopped her by gently placing his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to feel guilty for that.”

 

“I took an oath to do no harm and now…” Abby let out a sigh and shook her head.

 

“We’re here now, aren’t we?”

 

“But so many people have died to get to this point.”

 

“You have to be here for the living, Abigail. When my Leonard died, I found myself not caring about the consequences of my actions. I knew giving those people the medications was illegal, but being floated no longer seemed like a threat to me. Even when Diana told me that she had decided to send me to Earth instead of the execution, I wasn’t relieved. I was ready to be with my husband again.”

 

“And now?”

 

“Now, as much as I wish that Leonard was here to see the Earth, to see our people dancing and laughing on this Earth, I know that there is so much life left in me. And in you, Abigail.” Whalen pressed a kiss to her temple and rose from his chair. “Go celebrate the living, my dear.”

 

Abby didn’t move at first when Whalen walked away. She was too lost in what her old mentor had said. Glancing through the crowd, she could see Jake laughing with Jaha and for some reason, it made her smile. Jake wasn’t as jaded as the rest of them. Like Whalen, his time on Earth has been peaceful. Maybe that’s what Abby needed right now- some peace.

 

By the time she decided to go back to him, Jake had already said goodbye to Jaha and had two drinks in his hand; presumably one for him and one for her. It was a habit she guessed, to get things for your spouse. And the motions still came so naturally for Jake, because he hadn’t spent a year without her.

 

Putting on a charming smile for her husband, Abby asked, “Are you giving the Chancellor an illegal beverage?” From the flush of his cheeks, she could tell that Jake had already had a bit to drink.

 

“Of course not,” he joked, acting offended. Jake then started to gulp down her entire drink.

 

Abby laughed and grabbed his arm saying, “No, no, stop! Jake, give me my drink!”

 

“I thought you didn’t partake in illegal beverages?”

 

“We’re here to have a good time, right?” Abby plucked the cup from Jake’s grasp and drained what was left of it with one swallow.

 

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, “I guess I’ll get more…”

 

Abby linked her arm in his and they went back to the bar to pick up two more glasses. They wondered around the crowd for a while, drinking more than just a few glasses. It wasn’t long before they stumbled back to the room Jake had been sleeping in. Abby could feel the haze of alcohol and the heat pooling in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had let her libido take control. After Jake was floated, or rather sent to earth, Abby hadn’t been attracted to anyone. And when she finally was…well, Jake was here and not Marcus Kane.

 

Jake was the first to make a move. Her husband knew her well and could read all the signs: the way her breath hitched when he leaned in to kiss her neck or how the hairs on her arm stood up when his fingertips brushed against her skin. Jake didn’t bother with pretense as he pulled her shirt over her head nor did Abby hesitate when she returned the favor.

 

Sex was something Abby had pushed to the back of her mind over a year ago. However, in the past month or so, when she wasn’t worried about her daughter or the end of the world, she imaged dragging her finger tips down the solid abdominals of a man’s chest. Abby placed her palms on her husband’s pectorals and slowly inched them downward to unbutton Jake’s pants. Jake kissed her with the passion of a man who had been patiently waiting to make love to his wife.

 

Abby closed her eyes as she parted her lips to allow his tongue entrance into her mouth. Jake’s hands made quick work of her bra and pulled her in to hold her as he continued to kiss her. Abby hiked up her leg to bring their centers closer. Her fingers pulled at Jake’s hair and moved down his face to get a better grip. But Jake’s face was too smooth beneath her touch; there was no rough beard that had often featured in her dreams.

 

Jake’s arms weren’t quite as muscular as the ones she imagined, but they managed to lift her up to lay her down on the bed without much effort. Jake pressed kisses down her stomach and pulled off her pants. Before she knew it, they were laying in the bed, both naked. The kissing and touches grew more frantic and heated as the night wore on. And Abby closed her eyes as her husband entered her, because in that moment, it was another face she was seeing behind her eyelids.

 

If he noticed something was wrong, Jake never said. In fact, neither spoke a word the entire time. Which was different for them. Abby liked to talk when she made love; she liked to hear her lover’s voice. She usually wanted to know how Jake was feeling or to tell him what she needed or how much she was enjoying herself. But not tonight. Tonight, Abby was terrified of calling out the wrong name.

 

So she kept her voice silent. She let her husband make love to her and allowed herself to give in to the ecstasy of the moment. Jake’s hands treated her body with reverence and they fit just as well together as they had over a year ago. But she closed her eyes and tried not to think about another man’s body that she dreamed would be on top of her instead of the one that was currently pushing in and out of her.

 

After the drinks, the excitement of the dance, and the passionate sex that he had poured his heart into, Jake was fast asleep within minutes after they had finished. But Abby knew she wasn’t going to be sleeping tonight. Because the arm around her wasn’t the arm she wanted. The man sleeping next to her wasn’t the one who had been beside her for the horror of the past month. Abby felt sick to her stomach as she uncurled herself from her husband.

 

Slowly and quietly, Abby put her clothes back on and slipped out of Jake’s room. She managed to keep the tears at bay until she had climbed into her own bed, alone. Then she hugged her arms around herself and sobbed in the empty room.


	6. A Leader Shall Rise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First and foremost, I would like to apologize for not posting this on Thursday like I usually do. I’m in grad school and things got crazy last week. I can’t promise that this won’t happen again, but I do work hard to make sure it doesn’t. Writing is my outlet and when things get to a breaking point with school, my muse leaves me.   
> Secondly, I would like to say that although Bellamy is being a grade A asshole this season, I really appreciate his character and the conflict he creates. Because unfortunately, I sometimes see his side, wrong as it may be. And I have always enjoyed the strong friendship that Bellamy and Clarke have and think it is very important to both of their characters. However, I do not see romance between them, so if that’s what you’re looking for, I don’t want to lead you on.

A group of the original hundred were sitting around a fire after dinner. Bellamy had just came back from a Council Meeting where he was serving as a representative of the original hundred. He had only accepted the position at the insistence of Abby, who felt like she needed someone in the room with more experience on Earth. It was also a peace offering to the ex-delinquents that were being forced back into society. 

The news that Bellamy brought was alarming, to say the least. Kane and Pike were apparently at odds as to how to handle the grounders. Pike and his people were ready for war, if that’s what it took. Kane wasn’t willing to break the truce for Pike to have his revenge. Abby was firmly against the idea of getting into another war and argued that as chancellor, the final decision was hers. 

Bellamy impassively recounted the argument to the group. “And then Jaha called for an election. It was the only time he spoke the entire time. He pointed out that no one had actually elected Abby-”

“But no one is having problems with Abby,” protested Monty. Many of the others nodded in agreement. 

“Apparently Jaha does. And so does Pike.” 

"All Pike wants is a war," spat Octavia in disgust. 

"Just because no one is dying right now doesn't mean the Grounders aren't going to eventually want their land back. And we've got to start planting food and building villages," argued Bellamy and his sister narrowed her eyes. It was hard for him to see her so against her own people; why couldn’t she understand that ever since they had landed, they were at war?

While Bellamy stared at his angry sister, Monty was saying, “No one is saying we shouldn’t do anything of those things. We’ve got a garden started.” 

“It’s a small one. We need large areas of land to cultivate. And we can’t trust the grounders to let us do that. They are going to kill us the first excuse they get!” 

"Who? Indra?" 

"Look, I know you have a lot of respect for-" 

"Because she deserves my respect and yours!" 

This wasn’t the first argument that the siblings were having about the grounders and Monty threw his head back in frustration. "Would the two of you stop already?"

"We can't just pretend we don't have a problem," said Bellamy. "We have to elect a chancellor. They have all agreed on that. The councilors were sent back to tell their groups. And everyone should be aware of the facts before they vote, just like on the Ark." 

"But we're not on the Ark!" 

"But we're still trying to figure out the best way not to die," whispered Harper, bringing everyone into silence. 

Monty closed his eyes briefly before calmly stating, "So let's look at who we've got. First, Jaha-"

"No one is electing that nut job." Miller and Bryan were sniggering into their drinks. Monty rolled his eyes. 

"As I was saying. There's Jaha, who already has supporters. Nut job or not, he did get us to Earth.”

Bellamy shook his head. “I’m not sure he’s running. He seemed determined to have an election, but he didn’t put his name in. It’s just Kane and Pike as far as we know."

"Kane is too much like Abby..."

"What's wrong with Abby?" barked Octavia. 

Monroe raised her hands in mock surrender. "I was just saying that Chancellor Kane is no different than Chancellor Griffin and Abby just reminds us all of..."

"Clarke," finished Bellamy as he stared into the flickering orange flames. Whenever he closed his eyes at night, he could see the haunted look on Clarke’s face as she walked away from all of them. They needed her now. 

"And Mount Weather," added Miller. Bryan squeezed his boyfriend's hand sympathetically. Harper raised her glass in a mock salute before downing her moonshine in one gulp. 

"That just leaves Pike." 

"Pike is bloodthirsty! All he wants is war with the grounders!" Octavia was pacing now, but she wasn't the only one with that opinion. 

"I'm tired of fighting constantly," muttered Miller. "Pike has become a soldier. And what's a soldier without a war?" 

"Kane's a soldier." 

Monty shook his head. "Not anymore. He's changed...just like the rest of us." 

"Monty's mom trusts Pike and so does Bryan, right?" 

Bryan looked nervous at being put on the spot. After a gentle nudge from his boyfriend, he said, "Without Pike, Farm Station wouldn't be here. And I know that a lot of shit went down with the grounders here, but we lost two thirds of the people who landed...it was a lot of funerals..."

"Which is why we have to be prepared for-" started Bellamy in frustration. 

"Being prepared to fight and going out and looking for a fight are two completely different things!" Monty shouted back. 

Miller stood up to stand between them. “Yelling isn’t going to do anyone any good. We are all going to have to make a decision on our own.”

“But if we can all vote in agreement, then that person will be sure to win. Other people will vote for whoever we back.” 

"Don’t’cha find it odd that we're the ones who will swing the election?" asked Monroe before taking a sip of her moonshine. She had been completely ignoring the discussion since Mount Weather had been brought up, instead choosing to stare thoughtfully in the fire. "I mean we were all locked up on the Ark and if they hadn't floated us at eighteen, we wouldn't have been able to vote anyway. But then because we survived actual hell on Earth, we suddenly have a political voice." 

Bellamy and Monty stopped arguing long enough to stare at her. "What?" 

"She's got a point," muttered Harper. "One of us should run." 

"No." Bellamy got to his feet and finished off his drink. "That's a horrible idea." 

"Why? When we were at war with the Grounders and the Mountain Men, Clarke led us. Sure, Kane or Abby had the Chancellor pin, but it was Clarke who made the decisions." 

"Clarke isn't here," stated Bellamy flatly, his eyes dark with bitter memory. 

"But you are- you led us before the Ark came down, back at the dropship," pushed Monroe. "I'd vote for you." 

“I’m not running!” shouted Bellamy. The young man pushed himself onto his feet and looked around at his friends. “I’m supporting Pike. And I think all of you should do the same.” 

Monty shrugged at his suggestion, but replied in agreement, “I don’t think any of us should run. The rest of the Arkadians would never follow one of us. But I’m tired of fighting…”

Octavia’s eyes were narrowed at her brother. They had always been a team, but ever since the appearance of Astrid Rolston and Charles Pike, Bellamy had become a different person. Or at least, that’s the way Octavia saw it. Lincoln had pointed out to her that perhaps it was her who has changed. The betrayal of the grounders, especially Indra, had hit her hard. But she wasn’t ready to kill them; and there was a time when she would have been ready to kill anything that moved. 

“The election takes place in four days,” reported Bellamy. “I’m not going to spend my time trying to convince you of anything. But I believe that Pike is the right choice to keep Arkadia safe.” 

Bellamy left them around the fire to think over what he had said. He knew why Octavia couldn’t see what he did, but he didn’t know why the others were hesitant to support Pike. Especially Monty, who had been in the room when he and Clarke had made the decision to pull the lever. The grounders were not only responsible for the cold blooded murder of Pike’s people from Farm Station, but for every soul who died at the dropship and the people that they couldn’t save in Mount Weather. 

The grounders were the reason Clarke was gone. She had been betrayed by Lexa and forced to go too far. No matter how necessary it had been to flood the bunker with radiation, it still didn’t make it any easier. Pike was their only way to protect themselves. They had to show the grounders and Lexa that they weren’t afraid. Pike’s plan to fight for their own territory just made sense. They would come around, of that Bellamy was sure.

\-----THE 100-----

The next morning Abby was working in the hospital when she heard a clatter in the hallway. There was some shouting and someone was apologizing in a rush. She reached for her medical kit with the thought that if someone was running toward the hospital, then she would certainly be needed somewhere in a hurry. Monty rushed through the doorway, breathing hard. 

“Come quick- Clarke’s back!” 

Abby’s heart stopped beating in her chest as she tried to process the four words Monty had shouted. The young man was staring at her, his chest heaving. There was a smile plastered across his face that Abby hadn’t seen since he had brought his mother to meet her. Abby suddenly snapped back to reality, dropped the med kit and started for the door. “Where is she?” 

She followed Monty outside toward the front gate where she could see a crowd of the original hundred had gathered. Monty grabbed her hand and pushed his way through, dragging Abby along to finally see her daughter. The first thing Abby saw when the crowd parted was a very proud Octavia. The young woman smiled broadly at her and stepped to the side to reveal a dirt covered and dark haired Clarke. 

But Abby didn’t see the mud or the matted discolored hair; all she could see was her daughter. Clarke, the tiny baby she gave birth to; Clarke, the little girl who loved dancing with her daddy; Clarke, the studious teenager; Clarke, the girl who refused to betray her father and bravely went to lockup; Clarke, the young woman who led her people through a war; and Clarke, her daughter whose blue eyes were screaming out in pain of the guilt she suffered from. 

“Clarke,” Abby whispered and the young woman took a tentative step forward. Abby blinked back her tears and finally took her only daughter into her arms for the first time in a month. 

Clarke allowed her mother to embrace her and as soon as Abby kissed the side of her head, Clarke felt something finally release inside. “I’m sorry,” she choked out, trying not to cry. 

Abby pulled back far enough to cup Clarke’s face in her hands and stare intently into Clarke’s glistening eyes and murmured, “You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing. I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” The two held each other tightly, until Clarke spied Bellamy over her mother’s shoulder. She pulled away from the embrace, but grabbed Abby’s hand and greeted her friend with a simple, “Hello.” 

“I see you got my message…” Bellamy shifted awkwardly on his feet, not really meeting her eyes. 

Clarke squeezed her mother’s hand and with a small, but sincere smile at her friend, said, “Thank you.” 

Before Bellamy could reply, another person pushed through the crowd. Jake stopped a couple feet away from his wife and daughter who were still holding hands. Unlike when he saw Abby for the first time, Jake didn’t run to embrace his daughter. Instead, he stood still, staring at his daughter. Clarke stared back in disbelief.

Still holding on to her daughter’s hand, Abby guided Clarke over to where Jake was standing in shock. She gently took her husband’s hand and placed Clarke’s pale one in her place. “He’s really here, Clarke.”

“Dad?” The tears that Clarke had been so desperate to hold back were finally beginning to fall. The physical touch of her father’s hand brought her back to reality. Every moment from the day Jake had told Clarke about his plan came flooding back. “But how?” 

“It was all a hologram. From the moment I stepped in to the airlock, it didn’t really open. It was all an illusion,” explained Jake. His eyes glistened in reflection of his daughter’s tears. Slowly, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around his only daughter. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.” 

“Oh, Dad…” Now sobbing, Clarke hugged her father tighter. Abby was crying now too and Jake held out an arm to welcome her into the hug. They would have time later for words, for now they were content just to hold on to each other. 

The crowd around them cheered as the family was finally reunited. Standing apart from the crowd, but carefully watching the Griffins, was Jaha. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered a thought he had once had, a vision of sorts, where he stood with his family on Earth. But that was gone now. Now he had the City of Light. 

“We can’t wait much longer.” ALIE was next to him watching the others celebrate the return of Clarke. 

“I thought we agreed to use the election as a distraction.”

ALIE nodded and turned her attention away from the Griffins. “And it’s working. But Kane and Abby are going to be a problem.” 

“I told you that I’d handle Abby. Jake has been extremely receptive to our talks about the City of Light.” Jaha closed his eyes and allowed himself back into the City. ALIE and her red dress was there to greet him. He smiled at the few people who were mediating somewhere inside the Ark. They had already found a few people willing and worthy of the City of Light. 

“But he will talk to his wife first. And she is going to be against it. Abby Griffin is headstrong and a rule breaker.”

Jaha sighed and asked, “I thought we had decided to bring Raven and Jasper into the City first. Then, will Raven, Jasper, and Jake to convince Abby, the others will fall into line. And of course, the others who you cared for after they were sent to Earth. Darius and Astrid have already taken the key.” 

“We are sticking to the plan, Thelonious. It’s time to act.” 

“Raven isn’t ready,” he argued. 

ALIE tilted her head to the side. “I’ve been watching her. It’s time, Thelonious. You don’t have doubts, do you?” 

“Of course not. The City is everyone’s destiny. And we can take away Raven’s pain…and Jasper’s. That’s all I want for my people.” 

“Then we can move on with our plans.” 

“Of course,” replied Jaha with a smile. 

Opening his eyes, Jaha watched the Griffins walk back into the Ark. ALIE had a plan for all of them and Jaha needed to bring more people into the City of Light. That meant getting more people to take the key. Darius and Astrid had been convincing others to accept the key. Kane was distracted by Pike and the election and now Abby had her mind occupied by her family. First he had to convince Raven and Jasper to relieve their pain. Then he could move on to Jake and the rest of Arkadia.


	7. Earth Changes Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I present you a double dose of what you have requested: Jake and Clarke and some Kabby. Let me know what you think! Also, to make up for last week, this chapter is extra long!

Jake spread out his arms and stared up to the clear blue sky. It was everything he had dreamed of as a child. He had read books to Clarke when she was a child about Earth. Jake couldn’t believe he was here now with Clarke to live in this moment. The wind on his face was something he never thought he would experience.

 

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Clarke’s voice was just as soothing as the smell of the trees. And her smile, oh how he loved to see his little girl smile. When he had been drudging through the sand and the forest with Jaha and the other floaters, all he could think about was Clarke’s smile.

 

Jake put his arm around Clarke’s shoulders and pulled her close. “It really is.” The two were walking to the dropship, because Jake wanted to see where Clarke and the other hundred had first landed. Clarke had jumped at the opportunity to spend time with her father.

 

“I thought about you a lot when we first got here.” Clarke slipped out from under his arm and walked a little farther up the path. Even after she had left Bellamy outside of Arkadia and disappeared into the forest, she hadn’t thought much about those early days. She actually laughed when she remembered the incident with the jobi nuts. “In fact, I had some intense hallucinations about you.”

 

“Hallucinations?” asked Jake in concern, but upon seeing the look of nostalgia on Clarke’s face, he relaxed.

 

“Yeah, don’t eat the jobi nuts,” Clarke laughed, but then turned more serious and said, “I needed you. And you knew just what to say.”

 

“Well then it was definitely a hallucination,” joked Jake as they walked along the path. They continued in silence for a while before Jake asked, “Why did you leave?”

 

“What?”

 

Jake stopped walking and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “When I got here and your mother tried to tell me where you were, but she couldn’t tell me why you left after that thing in the mountain.”

 

Clarke took a deep breath and leaned up against a tree. She had been back for two days and everyone was treating her as if she would break. She knew they were all wondering why she had left and where she had gone, but thankfully, no one had been asking questions, not even her mother.

 

“The Clarke I knew-” started Jake, but she quickly interrupted.

 

“I’m not the Clarke you knew.” Her blue eyes bore into him and Jake swallowed hard. The woman in front of him was not the little girl he had raised. And it was more than the scars on her face or the clothes that she was wearing.

 

Jake placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed affectionately. “But you are…and I’m still the father you knew. I love you, Clarke. I just want to understand.”

 

“So do I,” whispered Clarke. Her father was really here, standing with her on Earth. She remembered the stories they used to read together and the plans they had made for whenever they made it to Earth. But the treehouses of her imagination and how they would learn to swim was all a dream now. “That’s why I left…I was trying to understand.”

 

“I know you’ve been through a lot since I got floated and I’m sorry, because it’s my fault-”

 

“It’s not your fault. Mom turned you in!”

 

Jake’s eyes grew dark at her accusation. “Clarke, your mother was only-”

 

“Only doing what she thought was best. Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Clarke started walking again and Jake fell into step behind her. She didn’t know how to explain it to him; she wasn’t even angry at Abby. Clarke wasn’t sure when she had actually forgiven her, but Abby had always been there when she needed her. “It’s not about Mom.”

 

“Wells?”

 

Clarke stopped at her friend’s name. When she laid awake at night in the forest, alone, she often saw his face. But he wasn’t alone in her memories. Finn was there and so was Charlotte. And every other member of the original hundred that never made it to Arkadia. And of course, there were the faces that she didn’t know: the invisible faces of the people of the mountain and the grounders that were melted ash around the dropship.

 

“Clarke?” Jake was staring at her a little while up the path, having not realized she had stopped. “You want to talk about?”

 

“Talk about what, Dad?” Clarke’s hands balled into fists. “Talk about how you got yourself floated and left me behind? Or how I had to kill Finn? We can talk about how I murdered hundreds of grounders or let Tondc blow up without warning anyone! How about what I had to do when Lexa…when Lexa…”

 

Clarke sat down on the ground and buried her face in her hands. Jake took a seat next to her, but let her have her space. “Lexa is the grounder commander, right? Your mom told me about her.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about Lexa,” Clarke stated flatly. She was tired of crying over Lexa’s betrayal. After she had left Bellamy at Arkadia, it had been days before she finally broke down in a cave a couple of miles from the dropship. She didn’t know what had brought it on, but soon the tears had started falling and they didn’t stop for a long time. But she was done crying over Lexa.

 

“We don’t have to talk about her. Your mom just seemed to think that you two were close.”

 

Clarke gritted her teeth and replied, “I thought so too.”

 

Jake looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but Clarke heard something in the trees. She leapt to her feet and looked around them. “What are you doing?”

 

“Shhh!” hushed Clarke. She reached behind her and pulled a handgun from her waistband.

 

Jake’s eyes widened when he saw the weapon in her hand and he started to get up, “What are you-”

 

“Get down!” shouted Clarke and pushed him back as an arrow flew through the air and lodged itself into Jake’s left shoulder. He cried out in pain, but Clarke had already started moving in the direction the arrow had come from. Suddenly, she could hear hooves on the path in front of them and she raised the gun with a steady hand.

 

As soon as the grounder and his horse came into view, bow and arrow in hand, Clarke pulled the trigger. The grounder fell from his horse and hit the ground, dead. The horse continued to run into the trees, away from them. From behind her, she heard her father call her name. Turning quickly, gun pointed, she saw another grounder holding a knife to Jake’s throat. The man had triangular scars on his face and white paint on his neck and forearms.

 

“Wanheda, fou daun yu fayogon!” the grounder shouted. Clarke recognized the word for ‘gun’ and by the motion the grounder was making, she could infer that he wanted her to drop her gun. There was no way to shoot him without hitting her father and Jake didn’t have the experience to take out the grounder himself. So, Clarke slowly lowered the gun to the ground, carefully weighing her options.

 

The grounder obviously thought he had an upper hand, because he grinned menacingly, “Wanheda. Nau osir don uf gon Wanheda.”

                                               

The grounder was so occupied with his prize that he threw Jake to the side and approached Clarke with is long knife in hand. Thinking fast, Clarke charged forward, knocking the grounder on his back. She pulled the knife hidden in her sleeve, but before she could strike, the man elbowed her in the jaw and flipped her over so he was on top now and her hand holding her knife was pinned under his knee.

 

It surprised Clarke that the grounder did not slit her throat now that he had the advantage. To her, this meant that he intended on taking her alive, and she could use this to her advantage. However, before she could make her move, Jake grabbed the man’s hand with the knife and pulled him backwards. Clarke scrambled to her feet and tackled the grounder once again. Jake was shouting now, but he wasn’t a fighter. Usually a two on one situation would even the playing field for wresting with a grounder, but Jake was hurt and had no experience with weapons.

 

Therefore, she had to make a quick decision. Clarke forced her knife into the exposed skin around his neck. The grounder gasped and tried desperately to seize her arms to no avail. Still choking, the grounder spat, “Wanheda…”

 

At his words, Clarke pulled the knife out, and blood surged out of the opening. As the grounder gagged, blood spurted across Clarke’s face and it seeped through her shirt. She watched the man die with hollow eyes. It was then she remembered that her father was standing near her, watching her stand over the dying grounder. She looked up and her heart stopped at the look of terror on Jake’s face. But before she could talk to him, the sound of someone running in the trees stopped her.

 

Lunging for the forgotten gun, Clarke turned to face whoever had come to challenge her now. Relief overcame her when she saw Octavia and Lincoln emerge from the trees and she lowered her gun. Octavia had her sword drawn, but as she assessed that the situation was under control, she placed it back in its sheath.  

 

“What happened?” asked Lincoln. He bent over the now dead grounder Clarke had just stabbed to investigate.

 

“We were attacked,” answered Clarke, now focused on her shell-shocked father. “Dad was hurt, we need to get him back to Arkadia.”

 

-THE 100-

 

Back at camp, Kane was finishing up his dinner when Abby pulled back the chair across from him to sit down. He smiled at her, but went back to shoveling food into his mouth. He had to be at the command post to relieve one of Pike’s men soon.

 

"You've been avoiding me."

 

Kane glanced up to look at her, his spoon hovering between the plate and his mouth. "I promise you that wasn't my intention."

 

Abby studied him for a moment before crossing her arms and adding, "You're avoiding Jake."

 

"That might be a bit more accurate," Kane admitted and he focused on his plate instead of her face.  Ever since the dance he had shared with Abby, he was feeling a bit guilty about almost kissing Jake’s wife. But he hadn’t necessarily been actively avoiding either one of them, but with the upcoming election, he had a lot on his mind.

 

"It's more than just being there to push the button to float him, isn't it?"

 

She knew him too well. He had pushed the button to float a number of people and Jake wasn’t the only one he had sentenced to death that he had known. But he couldn’t admit to Abby that it wasn’t the look on Jake’s face that had haunted him in his dreams- it had been the look of devastation on her own. "It's that...and more."

 

"You used to be friends," she pressed on.

 

He really wished she had not confronted him about this. He had hoped they would all be too busy for her to notice. Trying to cover for his lack of attention, he muttered, "Not like him and Thelonious."

 

"Still..."

 

"Abby, let it go. You've got your family back. You finally get what you want and you're here watching me eat. Take this chance to be happy...you never know what's going to happen."

 

"He keeps asking about you and why you can't stand to be in the same room."

 

"I don't know what to tell you." That wasn't a lie. He had no idea what she wanted from him. In his opinion, avoiding Jake was working exceptionally well.

 

Abby wasn't backing down, though. Her eyes narrowed and she said, "I think you do. I think this is about feeling guilty about your feelings for me."

 

Kane almost dropped his fork. He wasn't going to flat out deny he had feelings for her, but they had been ignoring it for weeks and now that her daughter and Jake were back, why would that change anything? What was the purpose of this conversation? "Abby, forget it."

 

"No. Because if you really don't have feelings for me past being friends then I've been reading the signs wrong for weeks."

 

"I said forget it. It's nothing."

 

"But I don't want to forget it." Abby put a hand on his own, forcing him to put his fork down. "And I don't want to ignore what is happening between us."

 

Kane gritted his teeth in frustration. "There is nothing between us. Go back to your family, Abby."

 

"How can you say that?" The dark ponytail she wore shook behind her. "I need to know..."

 

At this, Kane got up and picked up his plate to take it to the wash bin. Abby followed him stubbornly and shouted, "Marcus, don't walk away from me!"

 

He walked directly toward the lockers where he would pick up his rifle for his duty. Abby walked quickly to keep up, as she required two steps for each of his long strides. To Kane’s great surprise Abby didn’t talk, but when they reached a deserted section of the hallway, she pushed him into the wall.

 

“Abby! What are-”

 

Kane didn’t get to finish his question, because she had grabbed the front of his guard jacket to meet his lips with her in own in a searing kiss. Abby’s action caught him completely of guard and he nearly toppled them both over trying to find something to hold onto. Kane could feel Abby’s firm body pressed against his and he knew she was on the tips of her toes to reach him.

 

Her hands traveled upward from his jacket to wrap around the back of his neck. His skin tingled at her touch and he felt the faint pressure of her trying to force him to lean into the kiss. It would be so easy to give in. Kane couldn’t deny that he wanted this- wanted her. She felt so right up against him and the tip of her tongue brushed up against his lips…

 

“Stop!” Kane pushed Abby back and side stepped her to move away from the wall. His threw his hands into the air and whispered, “I just can’t…”

 

Abby’s brown eyes widened at his action. He didn’t blame her for her for thinking he would have wanted to kiss her; he did want to kiss her. He could still feel the ghost of her lips on his and there was nothing he wanted more than to take her into his arms and continue. If it was two weeks ago, he would have done just that and probably more. But Jake was alive; her husband was alive.

 

“You’re married, Abby,” he managed to say as he avoided her eyes. Instead, he ran his hand over his beard in trepidation. Kane was afraid he wouldn’t be strong enough to resist her.

 

“Jake was dead,” she stated flatly and she clenched her hands into fists at her sides. Knowing that Kane might bolt if she tried to touch him, she kept her distance. “Marcus, my husband was dead. And for a while, I was afraid my daughter might be as well. I have changed, Marcus. We both have.”

 

“He loves you and I know you love him.”

 

“On the Ark, things were different,” Abby tried to reason with him. “I loved Jake and a part of me will always keep a part of him close to my heart, but we’re not on the Ark anymore. I’m not the person on that Ark anymore. You and I- we would have never been in this situation on the Ark because we were too different!”

 

“You can’t just ignore your husband!” Kane’s shoulders were tense and he kept backing away from her. This time, Abby followed him. In her eyes was the determination Kane had come to love here on Earth. Abby’s strength of mind and soul during everything they had been through together had led him to reconsidering his feelings for her. But now he had to walk away and she needed to understand.

 

“I’m not ignoring Jake! But I’m not the woman he married. He’ll see that. He has to…”

 

“What about Clarke?” Kane knew that bringing up her daughter was a low blow, but he was getting desperate.

 

“Clarke has her father. Just because I don’t love him anymore doesn’t mean she loses her father!”

 

“Are you sure you don’t still love him?” There it was. Kane finally pinpointed the exact reason he couldn’t give in to her completely. He felt he was betraying Jake, but he was more afraid of Abby betraying him. “Because we’re not kids, Abby. You don’t get to flip flop between us depending on your mood…I can’t take that.”

 

Fury caused Abby’s cheeks to turn red. In a seething voice she replied, “I’m not a child. And neither are you. I know what I want, Marcus. I know that I love you and I thought you may love me too. I’m not giving up on you.”

 

But the implications of his comments had hurt her and she didn’t stick around to hear his answer. Abandoned in the hallway, Kane squeezed his eyes shut and let out a shuddering deep breath. He had never been good at relationships and when he finally did fall in love, of course it had to be with Abby Griffin. But she had her family, why couldn’t she see that? He didn’t want to hurt her; he had seen her in pain too many times over the last few weeks. And some of that pain he had been responsible for.

 

It would be better if she hated him though. He could love her from afar. It would be better for both of them, he told himself. Jake was a good husband and a good man and Kane had known him for a long time. Although the Griffins’ were often the opposing viewpoint of his own on the Ark, they were good people. Jake was good people. Kane didn’t see himself that way. Oh, he would love Abby- he did love Abby. But he wasn’t good people. He was the people that made the hard decision and got things done.

 

Storming into the locker room, Kane slammed his fist into one of the lockers. Pain shot up his arm, but for once he welcomed it. For a few seconds, he forgot about the touch of her lips and her hands on his jacket and face. He forgot about how natural it had felt to hold her. But just for a few seconds. Kane shook his hand out and tried to concentrate on work. He grabbed his rifle from his locker and stalked out toward the front gate.

 

He nodded at a few of the people he saw as he walked to his post, but didn’t involve himself in any of the chatter like he normally did. Abby would have berated him for not socializing with the election coming up, but it was her fault he was irritated in the first place. Kane relieved one of the new officers that had come with Pike and took a seat in the watchtower.

 

Barely five minutes had passed when he saw Octavia running out of the edge of the forest waving her arms over her head. Kane slid down the ladder as quickly as possible and ordered the front gate to be opened. He could just make out what the young woman was yelling as the metal clanked.

 

“Get Abby! We need a doctor!”

 

The only people out today that Kane knew of were Clarke and Jake Griffin. Panic seized in Kane’s chest as he rushed to Octavia’s side. He knew that someone else would be running for Abby. “Octavia, what happened?”

 

Octavia turned and pointed to the path that led into the forest. Clarke and her father were slowly making their way back to camp with a protective Lincoln trailing behind them. Clarke appeared to have blood on her, but Kane’s eyes immediately diagnosed that Abby would be needed for the arrow sticking out of Jake’s shoulder.

 

Once inside the walls of Arkadia, Clarke and Jake were surrounded by Abby, Jackson, Kane, and to Kane’s dismay, Pike. Upon further inspection, Kane realized that the blood on Clarke wasn’t her own and except for her rumbled clothing and a few scratches, Clarke was in good health. Adrenaline was working in Jake, because he was currently joking with Abby about his wound.

 

“Hey, if being floated out an airlock didn’t kill me, there’s no way a little arrow will!”

 

Abby didn’t seem to agree with her husband’s humor as she inspected the injury.  “It doesn’t look like it hit anything important, but it could be poisoned.”

 

“Those men weren’t warriors. They were bounty hunters from the Ice Nation. Azgeda doesn’t believe in poison. They make their kills personal,” said Lincoln from behind Octavia. “I also checked the other arrows.”

 

Abby nodded at his words and turned to Jackson, “We need to get him to medical so we can get the arrow out.”

 

“What about the men who attacked us?” asked Jake as he looked at his daughter who was still clutching the gun she had used to defend them.

 

Pike stepped forward. “This is exactly what I was trying to tell you! The grounders have no respect for the truce. We need to take action!”

 

“Those men weren’t Trikru! They belonged to the Ice Nation- we need to figure out why they were here,” argued Octavia. Her hatred for Pike had only grown during the last few days of his campaigning. And his distaste for both her and Lincoln was one of the worst kept secrets in Arkadia.

 

“They were here to kill them!” Pike could see the opportunity to convince the people of Arkadia that action needed to be taken against the grounders, Trikru or Azgeda alike.

 

“No,” protested Clarke, finally speaking up. She shook her head in confusion and thought back to the altercation. “They weren’t there to kill me and they basically ignored Dad. The one grounder kept saying ‘Wanheda’.”

 

Everyone turned to look at Lincoln, whose eyes had narrowed at the word. “It means Commander of Death. If they wanted you alive, they were taking you to the Queen.”

 

“I thought there was a Commander, not a Queen?” asked Pike.

 

“Lexa is the heda- the commander of the Coalition and of all the grounders. But each group has its own command. Queen Nia rules over the Ice Nation and if anyone were to go against Lexa’s orders, it would be her.”   
  
Now that Abby was certain that no ill fate would become of Jake, her attention turned to protecting her daughter. “What does this Queen want with Clarke?”

 

“If those men were calling Clarke Wanheda, it’s possible that Queen Nia is planning to overthrow Lexa by killing Wanheda and assuming the power that she possesses,” explained Lincoln quietly.

 

“But I don’t have any power…”

 

Lincoln addressed Clarke now when he spoke. “You brought down the mountain and formed an alliance with our Heda. You have killed hundreds of grounders and mountain men alike. You are the Commander of Death.”

 

The group stood in silence at the meaning behind Lincoln’s words. Abby reached out to take Clarke’s hand, but Clarke was more concerned about her father. Jake’s face had turned pale at Lincoln’s description of his daughter. Clarke was no longer the little girl he had read stories about Earth to; Wanheda stood in his daughter’s place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:   
> Fou daun yu fayogon: Drop your gun.   
> Nau oso do uf gon Wanheda: Now we have the power of Wanheda. (This is probably incorrect, and if you can correct it, please let me know)


	8. Hodnes laik Kwelnes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Although I started writing this story before Season 3 premiered, I wrote this chapter about a week after “Thirteen”. Lexa deserved better and I hope that I will do her justice in my story. As a side note, in my mind Costia looks a lot like Storm from the X-Men comics when she has her Mohawk (except of course, she is very young- like 16-17 age). I don’t know why, but this is always how I envisioned her. Also, I don’t write Trigedasleng very well, so there are only a few choice sentences and I have them translated at the end.

It was dusk and a light breeze blew the tattered curtains that covered the doorway of the Heda’s balcony in the tower that rested in the center of Polis. Commander Lexa stood with her hands resting on the railing overlooking the vast city under her command. The wind moved the smooth black cloth of her night dress around her legs and her long dark hair fell freely on her pale shoulders as she watched the capitol extinguish the torches for the night.

 

This was Lexa’s favorite time to watch over her people. Everyone was calm, even her headstrong warriors. Children were herded home to bed and those who enjoy watching the stars come out sat around smoldering fires. In the comfort of their tents, she knew lovers were laying down to do anything but sleep. There were others like herself that would lay down alone tonight, but that thought wouldn’t keep her warm in her large bed.

 

Closing her eyes, Lexa thought back to the days when Costia would be waiting for her in that bed. Costia often joked about the perks of being Heda included that bed. It was soft and covered in the best furs that could be found throughout the twelve clans. The headboard had been intricately carved over six decades ago by the Heda at the time. Costia had loved it and Lexa had loved Costia. Which meant the bed was as much of a burden at night as the throne was during the day.

 

And it was Costia’s face that she saw she closed her eyes. The dark skin that was covered in black ink and felt so smooth under Lexa’s fingertips. She could remember the crooked smile and long eyelashes that covered the dark eyes that Lexa would get lost staring into.

 

_“Heda, are you listening?” Titus had been trying to explain something important, of that Lexa was sure. But the new Heda had a short attention span. And it was currently being used to study every beautiful feature of girl sparing in the ring before her._

_“Titus, please, I’m trying to watch.”_

_The other man sighed. “You can order her to fight for you any time. I’m trying to teach you. Even though Trikru and Floukru have been allied, you have much work to do to accomplish your goal.”_

_“I don’t want to order her,” muttered Lexa, straightening her back in her throne. “I just want to watch her. She’s good.”_

_“Costia,” noted Titus with a knowing voice. The girl was currently fending off blows from Anya’s stick. She was quick, but not graceful. Although Costia had no problems holding her own in battle, she didn’t have the perfection that Anya or Lexa possessed. But that didn’t matter. Costia had caught Lexa’s eye a while ago and Anya insisted on adding her to the Heda’s training guard._

_“She should have a seat by me tonight at the dinner,” ordered the brash seventeen year old. “I like talking to her.”_

_“Of course, Heda,” murmured Titus. Lexa glanced at him just in time to see him turning away with the smallest of smiles on his face._

And they had talked all evening. It wasn’t the first time Costia had been in Lexa’s company, but that dinner marked the beginning of a courtship that Lexa had taken very seriously. And tonight Lexa smiled at the memory. Costia had been so nervous and confused by her Heda’s interest. In fact, at the break of dawn the next morning, Lexa had sought Anya out to be sure that Costia would be interested in women. Laughing, Anya had reassured her old protégé that Costia spent as much time thinking about Lexa as Lexa did about her.

 

She remembered the times when she would stand on this balcony and Costia would come to bring her to bed. The balcony was where Lexa found peace in her thoughts and Costia never wanted to disturb her. Costia would sweep Lexa’s long hair to the side and press small kisses to her shoulders and neck. Tonight, Lexa could feel the ghost of those kisses and she shuddered at the thought.

 

Costia had always been the one to show Lexa joy in life. Lexa was a nightblood- trained since childhood to become Heda. Costia had seen the beauty in everything and wanted to share that with her lover. Although Costia wasn’t the most formidable opponent in hand to hand combat, no one could touch her when she got on the back of a horse. Lexa would tease that the reason Costia was so clumsy on the ground was because she was born on a horse.

 

Lexa listened to endless stories of Costia’s adventures exploring the forest around her village on the back of an old mare that had been wounded in battle. From the age of eight, little Costia would sneak out after dark to ride in the moonlight. So after long meetings discussing how to fight against Azgeda or how to successfully ally with Sangedakru or Trishana, Costia would take Lexa out of Polis to ride horses.

 

_Lexa was galloping on a black stallion, her hand lingering on the horn of her saddle. Costia was in front of her on a dapple gray that Lexa had gifted her several months ago. At first her girlfriend had been hesitant to accept the extravagant gift, but eventually Lexa’s true excitement about giving her the horse had won her over. According to Lexa, it was a gift of a true hosa._

_So now they were galloping away from Polis under the guide of the moon and stars. Lexa felt free following her lover as she weaved through the trees. Costia preferred riding bareback- said she could feel the great animal better._

_Eventually, they came to the edge of a cliff that overlooked the water. Costia pulled up and waited for Lexa to join her. But her Heda was enjoying the view from a couple of yards away. Costia usually shaved her head, but for special occasions she would grow out a strip in the middle just enough to weave in horse hair to give the appearance of a long mohawk. Sometimes her mohawk was black or died different colors like red or purple. Tonight it was a silver gray color, from a horse that had been killed in battle against the Azgeda._

_The moonlight gleamed down on the long strands of hair and Lexa couldn’t help but murmur, “Yu laik meizen.”_

_Costia blushed at the compliment and slipped off her horse. Lexa mimicked her movement and the two met between the horses. Costia ran her fingertips across Lexa’s lips and said, “Ai hod yu in.”_

_It was the first time she had said those words and the first time Lexa had heard them come from the lips of someone other than her mother. Costia cast her eyes downward and took a step back when Lexa didn’t respond._

_Panicking, Lexa quickly grabbed Costia’s hand and pulled her into her arms. She could hear both of their hearts hammering as she wrapped her muscular arms around Costia’s thin frame. The other girl buried her face into Lexa’s hair and held on tight. In a whisper, Lexa calmed Costia’s fears, “Ai hod yu in seintaim. Ai laik yun.”_

_After kissing Lexa firmly, Costia placed both hands on Lexa’s cheeks and rubbed away the black paint that was starting to run. With fire in her eyes and love in her heart, Costia said the words Lexa would reply in her head over and over again: “Ai Heda, ai niron.”_

But Costia was dead. There would be no more midnight horse rides or passionate sex in the Heda’s bed. Gone were the days of stolen kisses and words of love. Costia was dead and Lexa was still the Heda. Being Heda meant moving past the death of her lover and continuing on for the best of her people. It also meant allowing Azgeda to join her coalition just six months after Queen Nia sent her Costia’s head. _Hodnes laik kwelnes,_ she would repeat in her mind during those trying times. Hondes laik kwelnes. And a Heda was not weak.

 

She remembered the first time she saw Clarke with her pale skin and long blonde hair, pleading for the Grounders to work with the Sky People to rescue those trapped in Mount Weather. Clarke had brought her a lock of Anya’s hair at that first meeting. No, Lexa didn’t trust her. Nor did she see her as an equal or an ally. But Clarke had offered her a way to save her people and when Abby Griffin shocked Lincoln back to life, Lexa saw the potential for an alliance.

 

But first, Lexa need Finn. Jus drein jus daun. And Clarke had been weak. Hondes laik kwelnes. It was a concept Clarke had never been able to understand. Lexa had tried to explain that- she even told Clarke about Costia, her beloved, standing over the ashes of Finn’s body. The dead are gone. That’s what Lexa had told Clarke that day. But she was only pretending. The pain never went away. Costia still haunted her dreams.

 

But Lexa didn’t fall in love with Clarke at first sight as she had done with Costia. Clarke and the rest of Skaikru were a thorn in her side. The moment she saw Clarke as more than a scared girl trying to protect her people was when she drank out of the bottle they all thought to be poisoned. Clarke was brave and strong and beautiful. It just took Lexa longer to realize it.

 

But they were at war and the Heda did not have time to fall in love with the Skaikru girl. She didn’t account for the pauna or how Clarke would save her life. But Clarke had proved herself when she allowed the destruction of Tondc. Watching Clarke become the leader her people needed had awoken something in Lexa that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Talking with her, walking with her, and arguing with her- Lexa treasured every little moment.

 

Hondes laik kwelnes. Lexa tried to remind herself every time she saw Clarke. She knew how Titus would advise her. But her heart hammered every time Clarke spoke and her breath caught when Clarke called her out. Lexa had admitted something to Clarke that she couldn’t even admit to herself- she cared for Clarke. She was weak and she had let her weakness overtake her.

 

Lexa hadn’t kissed another woman since Costia. But seeing Clarke so full of life in that tent before they marched upon Mount Weather, Lexa had taken the chance. She needed to feel Clarke’s lips on her own and she hadn’t been let down. Now it was Clarke’s kiss keeping her awake at night, not Costia’s. The only problem was she would never have memories of Clarke like she did of Costia.

 

The only memory she had left of Clarke was of that fateful night at Mount Weather. The look of betrayal on Clarke’s face when she revealed the deal she had made for her people would haunt her for the rest of her days. When she had left Clarke standing in the doorway, Lexa had begged for her to understand. She had to understand. This was for her people- Lexa was the Heda of the Coalition. She had to protect her people. Her head had overruled her heart.

 

But Clarke’s tearful eyes had caused Lexa to turn her back and walk away, lest she start to cry as well. Clarke didn’t understand how much it had pained her to betray them and Lexa didn’t blame her. So now Lexa stood on her balcony over Polis. She had to be content with the choices she made to save her people, even if it left her with haunted nightmares of Clarke hating her. That meant lonely nights of remembering Costia and trying to forget Clarke.

 

A group of people carrying torches were headed for the entrance to the tower below her. Lexa dried her eyes with the back of her hand and turned to go back inside her rooms. If anyone was approaching the tower this late at night, they were bringing news to her, so Lexa grabbed a cloak off an armor stand in the corner and waited for the knock on her door.

 

When the door finally opened, Lexa was surprised to see Indra before her. The warrior Chief knelt in her Heda’s bedroom. “Forgive me for disturbing you this late, Heda. But I bring bad news.”

 

“Go on.” Lexa braced herself for the worst. Indra was the closest to Arkadia and had been given the task of watching over Skaikru and indirectly, Clarke. Indra rose to address Lexa.

 

“Azgeda marches on Trikru land.”

 

Lexa stood in anger, “You’re sure of this?” Queen Nia had always pushed at the bounds of their truce, but this was grounds for war.

 

“I saw them myself, Heda. I came directly here to tell you.” Indra hesitated before adding, “And there is a rumor…”

 

“I do not put faith in rumors, Indra,” replied Lexa in surprise. “I wouldn’t think you would either.”

 

“I would not, but I thought you would want to hear this one.” Indra looked anywhere but her commander’s eyes. “It seems that Queen Nia has put out a bounty for the one they call Wanheda.”

 

“Wanheda?” The commander of death? Lexa didn’t bother to hide her confusion.

 

“Klark com Skaikru.”

 

Lexa’s breath caught in her throat and it felt as if her heart stopped beating. Clarke. Clarke was in danger. Clarke- the commander of death. Clarke wasn’t the commander of death, Lexa was. Everything Clarke had done in Mount Weather to save her people had been Lexa’s fault. Costia’s blank eyes and severed head floated into Lexa’s mind.

 

“Thank you, Indra,” Lexa managed to say without any indication of how much the news affected her. Indra took her leave, but before Lexa’s guards could close her door, the Heda gave an order. “Bring me Prince Roan of Azgeda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hosa: rider (as in horse rider)  
> Yu laik meizen: You are beautiful.   
> Ai hod yu in (seintaim): I love you (too)  
> Ai laik yun: I am yours.   
> Ai Heda, ai niron: My Commander, my lover.   
> Hodnes laik kwelnes: Love is weakness  
> Jus drein jus daun: Blood must have blood.   
> Pauna: gorilla


	9. Hope for the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I disagree with everything Pike stands for. However, he does believe that what he’s doing is for the best and I found it was interesting to explore his ideas for Arkadia. But never fear, I’ve included a rather wonderful Kabby moment, if I do say so myself. And then I get to torture all of you for a couple of chapters.

Chancellor Charles Pike stood in front of the people of Arkadia for the first time as their new leader. He stared out across the crowd to take in the moment. Scared, tired faces were staring back at him. His people needed saving; they needed protection. The grounders were gathering in their capitol: Polis. And that could only mean one thing for Arkadia- the grounders were coming for them. The people of Arkadia had elected him Chancellor and he was going to do his best to keep them safe.

 

“Fellow Arkadians, it is my honor to serve as your Chancellor. I hope that I will be worthy of this honor.” There was a polite clapping and Pike held up his hand to silence them. “My first initiative will be to fortify our property.” 

 

This statement was followed with loud cheering and Pike smiled down at the people. This would keep their minds occupied for now, but there was so much more to be done than just preparing to defend themselves. If they were going to survive here long term, they had to start making plans. But first, Pike had to address the unrest of a certain group of people.

 

Kane had quit the Guard after the first council meeting when Pike had announced his plans to be proactive against the grounder population. He had thrown down his Guard jacket at the new chancellor’s feet and in the heat of the moment vowed to do whatever it would take to stop him from slaughtering innocent people. Pike knew Kane well enough to realize that he would be true to his word. So now he waited for Kane to make his move.

 

“We are part of the Earth now, and it’s time for the people of the Ark to take what is ours. It’s time to not only avenge those who lost their lives during this war, but to also protect our children in the future.”

 

Looking through the crowd as he continued his speech to explain his plans for expanding the garden, Pike noted that although Abby and Jake Griffin were in attendance, their daughter and Kane were not. He wasn’t surprised that Kane wasn’t there and he had guards patrolling to be sure the man didn’t try to sneak out while everyone was distracted. However, Clarke had had been a mystery to him ever since she returned to Arkadia. The Clarke he remembered teaching on the Ark had been eager to please and self-assured. The Clarke on Earth was a much different woman.

 

She hadn’t come out in loud opposition of his plans like Kane had, but she had refused to support his cause when he had asked. He had thought that she would understand him, like Bellamy did. Bellamy had told Pike what had happened at Mount Weather and about the grounders’ betrayal, Pike thought for sure that Clarke would understand how dangerous the grounders could be and why they needed protection.

 

But that wasn’t the case, so now, Pike and those he trusted were working to figure out what Kane had planned. The easiest way to deal with traitors was to let them stab themselves in the back. All Pike had to do was wait for Kane or any of his followers to make a mistake. Then Pike would be able to hang them all for treason.

 

Turning his thoughts back to the speech he was giving, he made sure that the traitors watching now knew the risk they were taking. “There are those here that would see us try to befriend the grounders who left our people to die in Mount Weather and slaughtered our people one by one. Think of your brothers and sisters of the Ark who are not here today. Arkadia has to stand as one against the grounder threat. So to those who are whispering in the dark about warning the grounders, I have a message for you: Turn your back on your people, and I will be sure that you suffer the same fate as the grounders.”

 

The crowd cheered in response and began chanting his name. Pike looked around with pride swelling inside of him. He saw his loyal friends, Hannah with her son, all of the soldiers he had created here on Earth, and Bellamy with many of the original hundred standing in support.

 

* * *

 

 

With his bag draped over his shoulder, Kane wandered into Medical, because he knew that Abby had a med kit waiting for him. He was a little apprehensive, because he and Abby hadn’t been alone since the kiss in the hallway four days ago. Now, here he was, about to leave and he was taking her daughter with him. He knew that she wanted to go with them and had argued relentlessly for hours to accompany them. But the people of Arkadia needed their doctor, so Abby was staying behind with the team that was going to try to take down Pike from the inside: Raven, Wick, Miller, Harper, Monty, Jasper, and Sinclair.

 

Abby was sitting at a desk in the corner, bent over some paperwork that he was sure Pike had given her to keep her busy. She was still on the council as the medical liaison, but Kane knew it was a way for Pike to keep an eye on her. Kane could see all the tension she was holding in her shoulders and he felt guilty for giving her more to worry about.

 

“Hello,” he said softly as to not startle her. She didn’t smile when she turned to see him like she used to and he knew that no matter what had transpired since their argument, she was still angry. But she wasn’t petty enough to keep it from effecting their cause and that made Kane feel even worse.

 

Abby stood up and walked over to a shelf where she pulled a white box down. She clicked it open and spun it around to show him what she had packed. “You’ve got gauze, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and tape here. These fold out to make small braces in case someone breaks something. It’s not a permanent fix, but it’ll hold anything in place until you can get help. These are normal painkillers and this is the heavy duty stuff. It’ll put you out pretty quick, so use it carefully. Also here is some needle and medical thread. And I’ve also included some small scissors, a scalpel, and a pair of tweezers. Hopefully you won’t need them.”

 

“Thanks,” he murmured as she closed up the case. Her eyes were focused on what she was doing and she never once looked him in the eye. Kane could feel the empty pit of anxiety in his stomach and knew he was never going to be able to leave her without setting the record straight.

 

She pushed the case towards him, but he didn’t pick it up. It was now or never, he told himself. There was a high probability that he could die in the following days, whether it be execution for treason or the knife of a grounder intent on getting Clarke to the Ice Queen.

 

Kane cleared his throat and began with, “Abby, I want you to know that the reason I’m leaving has nothing to do…I mean, I just want to tell you that I’m not running away…”

 

“What are you talking about?” Abby was finally looking at him, but now she was confused, not angry.

 

“I meant, I’m not running away from you…” Kane didn’t know how to convey to her what he meant. The conversation he had rehearsed in his head on the way over here was falling apart. “The other day, when you kissed me, I reacted…I was scared, Abby.”

 

Unexpectedly, a blush rose up in her cheeks. “I kind of jumped you.”

 

Kane grinned at her response. “I’d be lying if I said that I had never imagined that scenario before.”

 

“I am sorry for how it happened, but I’m not sorry that I did it.” Abby walked around the table to stand in front of him.

 

“I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t leaving you.” Kane took her hands and his thumbs brushed over the back of her hands. “What you said, about my feelings for you, that was true. It was just hard to admit it when I thought…”

 

“Thought I was in love with someone else?”

 

“Jake’s a good man, Abby, and I have a lot of respect for him. So when he came back, I just shut away everything.” Kane squeezed her hand affectionately. “It took me by surprise to know that you felt the same way…”

 

Abby removed her hands from his and ran her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders which pulled them closer to each other. “It took me plenty of time to realize it, but I’m in love with you, Marcus. I don’t really know how or when it happened, but I fell in love with you.”

 

If the heart could physically swell with admissions of love, Kane’s heart would be filling his entire chest. Years ago, even a couple of months ago, he would have never dreamed to be standing with Abby Griffin, about to divulge his soul to her. But they weren’t on the Ark anymore and he was no longer threatening to throw her out an airlock.

 

“For me it was when you took those lashes,” he murmured, lost in a rather horrible memory. 

 

“What?”

 

“When I realized I was in love with you,” he answered with a crooked grin. “I was standing there, giving the order for you to be punished and something inside of me just broke. I knew I had to uphold the law- it’s what I’ve done my entire life. But for some reason, seeing you holding to your principles and protecting your daughter and the rest of the kids, I realized I was wrong.”

 

“I broke the law, Marcus. I don’t blame you for what happened,” Abby assured. Kane’s hands had found their way to her hips now. This position felt so similar to the dance they had shared at the celebration not so long ago. And most of all, it felt right.

 

“I know that now. But you changed how I saw everything here on Earth.”

 

Abby had her arms around his neck now and she whispered in his ear. “Dr. Whalen gave me some advice about being here for the living. My marriage is dead, it died when Abby Griffin left the ark. But you and I, we’re here now- alive. And I don’t want to miss another minute.”

 

This time it was Kane who initiated the kiss. There was no rush to this kiss and Kane held her close to his body. This kiss was tender and sweet, just like a first kiss should be. This time, Kane ran his fingers through her dark hair and over her back. Abby’s hands were in his hair and tracing down his beard to his neck.

 

Her touch was as intoxicating as it was in his dreams. It seemed that she needed to touch him as much as he needed to feel her. A nip of her teeth on his bottom lip caused him to let out a moan that he didn’t bother to suppress. His hands traced down the sides of her body to caress the curve of her butt. Effortlessly, he lifted her to sit her on the table and pushed the med kit out of the way. Abby hooked her legs around his waist. Kane kissed down her neck and pushed her hair behind her shoulder to get better access.

 

Abby hummed with pleasure before whispering in his ear, “Marcus, we have to stop.”

 

“I know,” he groaned, but didn’t pull away. His breath was warm on the exposed skin of her neck and she clung to his shirt like it was the only thing holding them together. He couldn’t believe that he was this close to her, but still about to walk away from her for what could be the rest of his life.

 

Abby brought his hand up to her lips to kiss it. “You’ll be back Marcus. You’re going to save us and come back to me.”

 

“I can’t make that promise,” he murmured.

 

“I know. But I can hope…”

 

Kane cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. “I won’t give up hope, Abby. That I promise.”

 

He kissed her softly on her lips and then stepped back to let her jump down off the table. She turned to grab the med kit and held it out for him to take. This time, he accepted the case, but pulled her into a hug. Abby buried her face into his shoulder, willing herself not to cry. Now wasn’t the time for tears; although it seemed these days that there was never time for tears. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head and wanted to beg him to let her go with him. But she had a responsibility to the people of Arkadia. So she was staying and allowing Kane and Clarke to go on without her.

 

As if he was reading her mind, Kane said, “I’ll look after Clarke.”

 

“You should go.” Abby pushed herself onto the tips of her toes to give him one last kiss, being sure to memorize the feel of his beard against her skin. She had to have hope that she would see them again.

 

Kane took a deep breath and walked out of medical, his hand gripping the med kit tightly. Each step he took felt heavier than the last as he walked to the secret panel where he knew Raven, Wick, and Clarke would be waiting for him. Sure enough, he found Wick pretending to fix an automatic door just up the hallway. He was watching for any guards Pike might send by.

 

“They’re waiting for you,” Wick whispered as Kane walked by.

 

Raven and Clarke were hovering by the panel that he and Clarke would use to escape. They both nodded to acknowledge his arrival. Clarke got straight to work and pulled back the panel. She threw her bag through the opening and motioned for Kane to go first. Kane climbed through, dragging his own bag and the med kit behind him. He heard Clarke say goodbye to Raven and the two must have exchanged a hug because there was a brief moment of silence before Clarke joined him.

 

Neither spoke as they snuck out of Arkadia and into the forest. Lincoln and Octavia were already at the meet point. They would be going to the neighboring villages to warn the grounders about impending attacks on Arkadia. Kane knew it was a risk to arm the grounders with this knowledge, but he also knew that those villages wouldn’t be able to attack Arkadia alone. Lincoln had assured him that the warrior class of grounders would be gathering in Polis for the meeting.

 

Which is where he and Clarke were heading to meet with Lexa. It had been Clarke’s idea to go with him, because she was worried that the Ice Nation may try to attack Arkadia in order to get to her. So Lincoln and Octavia would be dropping hints that Wanheda had left Arkadia and hopefully the bounty hunters would look elsewhere for their prize.

 

Kane shook Lincoln’s hand to wish him luck and to his surprise, accepted the hug Octavia gave him. The young girl had grown so much since they had found her under the floorboards of the Blake’s cabin. He wasn’t worried about Lincoln or Octavia. He knew they would be alright on their own. His worry was for Clarke and himself getting to Polis without running into trouble. Which is why Kane was waiting on a rover that was making its way down the road.

 

The rover slowed to a stop as Kane and Clarke walked out into the middle of the road. Miller jumped out of the driver’s seat and gave a small salute to Kane. They walked around the back of the rover where Harper had opened the back door. Clarke threw in her bag and hopped in.

 

“I’ve got everything you need here,” said Harper. There was a box sitting in front of Monty that contained a couple of handguns, two rifles, and a couple of boxes of bullets.

 

“Thanks, Harper,” replied Clarke and she reached out to hug the other girl. Harper gave her a smile and wished her luck before hopping out to join Miller who was talking to Kane.

 

“You ready?” Kane asked. Miller shrugged and braced himself as Kane hit him hard against the jaw. Inside the rover Clarke flinched, but in order for their plan to work, it had to look like Kane and Clarke had forcefully taken the rover from them. Kane launched his fist into the young man’s stomach and Miller dropped to his knees. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine,” wheezed Miller. “Just try not to break anything, ok?”

 

Harper actually laughed as she handed Kane three injections that had been ‘stolen’ from Medical. “Abby says this shouldn’t put us out for long, but it’ll appear that we were unconscious for a while.”

 

“How come I have to get beat up first?”

 

“Because the idea is that Clarke snuck up behind me and drugged me. You should give Monty a good hit or two and then you can be on your way.”

 

Kane took the injectors and looked at Miller who was still on the ground. “You should scratch up your knuckles to make it look like you got a few good hits in.”

 

“Thanks,” spat Miller sarcastically.

 

Harper laid down on the ground and said, “Ok, I’m ready.”

 

Kane injected her and she immediately passed out. He did the same to Miller and he looked into the back of the rover at Monty. “Your turn.”

 

The young man took a deep breath before saying, “I’m going with you.”

 

“That wasn’t the plan,” argued Clarke.

 

“I can’t stay,” he said quietly. “My mom believes in Pike and she won’t listen to me. And I’m afraid that I won’t be able to…”

 

“You don’t think you can work against her,” finished Kane sympathetically.

 

“After Mount Weather, I have to do what’s right. For me, for my mom, and for Jasper.”

 

“What happened at Mount Weather wasn’t on you, Monty.” Clarke sat down next to him in the back of the rover. She placed her hand on his knee, but he pulled away.

 

He looked directly at her and said, “You wouldn’t have been able to pull that lever if I hadn’t made it possible. And I need to make my mom see that killing people isn’t the way to get revenge. She has to see that. And going with you is the best chance to prove that to her.”

 

Kane knew that if he asked Monty to get out of the rover, he would. But Kane understood the need to set things right. “Alright, kid. We need to get going.”

 

He shut the back of the rover and walked around to the driver’s seat. Kane jumped in and grabbed the steering wheel. Without looking back at Arkadia, he put the gears into drive and started on the road to Polis. Warning Lexa, finding a way to create a truce with the grounders, was all Kane could afford to think about now. A part of him wished he could turn the rover around and go back to Abby, but he had a job to do. His only hope of seeing Abby again was to survive this mission. And he needed hope.


	10. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would like to apologize to my readers for how late this chapter is. I take full responsibility…I had a paper due and did not feel like writing when it was finished. When I turned in that paper last Monday, my computer crashed on Tuesday. So I spent some time recreating this chapter as well as the next one on my roommate’s computer. But thank you all for your kind reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, I’m dedicating this chapter to Ilena Petrova as a thank you for making sure I was alright and that I would be finishing the story.

Abby sat with her legs tucked beneath her on the couch in what used to be Kane’s office. She was staring at the map he had been putting together with Lincoln and Bellamy. Everything that happened between getting out of Mount Weather and the moment Pike became chancellor was a blur for her now. All she had now was the memory of a few days of knowing that her daughter was safe. But Clarke was gone again and Abby was alone- so alone.

 

When the door creaked open, she immediately felt guilty at the thought. Jake peered around the door frame to see her sitting by herself and walked over to sit beside her. He didn’t try to put his arm around her, just sat in silence beside her. It was if he was trying to prove to her silent thoughts that she wasn’t alone, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being left behind; as if the whole world had left with Clarke and Kane in that rover.

 

“How do you do it?” he asked finally. When Abby glanced sideways to look at him, she realized his eyes were closed in thought. “How do you just let her go?”

 

“She’s not a child anymore, Jake. And I didn’t have a choice…I’ve never had a choice when it comes to letting her go,” murmured Abby and she closed her eyes as well. She thought it may keep the tears at bay, but thin lines of liquid were forming on her face.

 

Jake brushed away her tears and Abby blinked her eyes open again at his touch. He was much closer than she anticipated. They hadn’t been this close since the night of the celebration when they had slept together. Since then, Abby had purposefully put distance between them in order to sort out her feelings about Kane. Jake was speaking to her again and she tried to focus on his words. “I wasn’t accusing you. I just don’t know how to do this…she’s my little girl. I just got you both back and now…”

 

“I know.” And she did understand the inner battle Jake must be having with himself. But she had learned to let go of Clarke the day the dropship had been released from the Ark.

 

“I was surprised I didn’t find you in Clarke’s tent.” His comment wasn’t an accusation, but he did expect an answer. In that moment, it occurred to Abby that she never even considered going to where Clarke had been sleeping for the past week. Her body had unconsciously led her here instead.

 

She thought for a minute before answering him delicately, “I’ve learned to carry Clarke inside me…her tent wasn’t her home. Arkadia wasn’t even her home. I’m always close to Clarke, because my heart is still beating inside me.”

 

“So you’re here because you miss Marcus…” Jake signed deeply and bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees. It was time to talk honestly with Jake. She had been putting it off for too long now. A part of her had wanted time with Jake and Clarke as a family but that had been unfair to everyone involved. Abby would always care about Jake, but she knew now that she no longer loved him.

 

“I’ve spent a lot of time here with Marcus since we landed.”

 

Jake remained in the same position, with his head down. He knew what was coming; ever since he’d returned, Abby had been distant. When they made love the night of the celebration, Jake knew something was different. But that didn’t make it any easier. Jake’s voice was steady thought when he said, “I noticed that you two had grown a lot closer. In fact, I can’t really remember a time on the Ark when you spoke to him without complaining about something.”

 

“You were dead, I had no idea if Clarke was alive or not, we were breaking up the Ark to come to Earth and all I had left was Marcus.” Abby placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “I didn’t realize how much he meant to me-”

 

“Do you love him?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The silence hung heavy between them. When they had gotten married twenty years ago, there was never a thought that someone could come between them, let alone Marcus Kane. Then when Jake was floated, Abby had larger problems with the future of the Ark and her daughter to ever think about moving on. Jake was her husband- dead or alive.

 

But then it was Marcus who climbed through the ventilation shaft to rescue her; Marcus who would have sacrificed his life, a life he thought was worth so little that he should be the one to stay behind; it was the infuriating Chancellor that had her punished in front of all the people in Camp Jaha. She closed her eyes and thought about the Marcus who was willing to slit his own wrists to prove to Lexa that the Sky people were worthy. She had fallen in love with the man who had been broken and bleeding beneath Tondc and the man who had begged and pleaded for the Mountain Men to spare her.

 

But she knew those memories meant nothing to Jake. Jake would be remembering how he had asked Abby to the Unity Day dance when they fourteen or how beautiful she had looked in her mother’s wedding dress. She knew he was thinking about the day that Clarke was born and how he had held her hand through the delivery. Jake was remembering a love between them that for her had been dead for a year and a half.

 

His voice was raspy when he spoke again. “Is there nothing I can do? Is there no way for me to get you back?”

 

“I’m sorry, Jake,” she murmured and she meant every word. Abby knew he wouldn’t believe her if she told him how hard this was on her. So she blinked away her tears and replied, “I moved on. And I love him.”

 

That clearly wasn’t want he wanted to hear and Jake got to his feet to walk away from the couch. “I get it, I guess. I was dead…you deserve to move on.”

 

“It’s not like I ran off with the first man I found, Jake.” Abby tried to keep her voice gentle, because she shouldn’t be angry with Jake. She’s the one who fell in love with someone else, not him. “We sent those kids to Earth and everything went to hell. I survived. Clarke survived. But we’re not the same people we were on the Ark. Marcus certainly isn’t- he became the leader we needed. And I found someone that I needed too.”

 

“I can be that person you need, Abby. I’m back now.” Jake was staring at her now with desperate eyes. She knew she was breaking his heart, but she couldn’t live a lie. “Please, just give us a chance…”

 

Abby took a deep breath before answering, “That wouldn’t be fair to you or Marcus.”

 

“I honestly don’t give a damn about Marcus. I care about you and Clarke. That’s it. My family means more than any grounder truce or Wanheda nonsense or whatever Pike is up to!”

 

“Don’t you dare accuse me of not caring about my family,” replied Abby in a low voice. There was heat in Jake’s cheeks and Abby had to remind herself that he was just expressing his frustration. To level herself, Abby grabbed a pillow and hugged it her chest. “I have done everything I can to keep Clarke safe. But that means creating a truce with the grounders to get them to stop hunting her and fighting back against Pike.”

 

Jake had begun pacing in front of Kane’s desk. “You sent our daughter to Earth, Abby. I’m not sure that qualifies you for mother of the year.”

 

“Get out.”

 

Now the anger was burning in Abby’s cheeks, but she remained frozen on the couch. To his credit, Jake looked guilty for his last comment. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m the one who got myself floated. This is between you and me. Clarke shouldn’t have anything to do with it.”

 

“Get out,” Abby repeated.

 

“I love you. Please, Abby, don’t throw away our marriage!” Jake was begging now.

 

“I said leave, Jake. I made my decision. I understand that this is hard for you, but you’re the one who threw away our marriage when you broke the law. I can’t help the fact that I fell in love with someone else. But nothing is going to change that. So get out.”

 

This time, Jake listened and he made a beeline for the door. As Jake stalked out of the room, Abby laid down on the couch and pulled her knees into her chest. She flinched when the door slammed shut and took several deep shuddering breaths, but no tears came. In the silence of Kane’s office, Abby wondered how he and her daughter were now.

 

Miles away from Abby falling asleep on Kane’s couch, Kane, Clarke, and Monty were walking through the forest. They had been forced to abandon the rover a couple of miles back because the road had ended. Lincoln had warned them this would happen, but they weren’t far from Polis now. The tall tower that marked the grounder capital could be seen over the tops of the trees. The trek had been uneventful thus far, but Kane was on high alert.

 

But being on high alert wasn’t any help when about a dozen grounders ambushed them. Kane managed to take down two of them with a couple of shots before he was tackled to the ground from behind. He could hear Monty and Clarke shouting, but if he could hear them, it meant they were still alive. Kane jammed his elbow backwards and felt it connect with the face of the grounder who was on top of him. The grounder's knife scraped against his bullet proof vest and in that moment he was glad that Monty had insisted they put them on. He heard a couple of gun shots ring out and relief flooded his senses. One of the kids still had a gun.

 

Monty was yelling again and when Kane rolled over another grounder with an even longer knife was on top of him immediately. He threw up his hands to block the blow and gritted his teeth as the knife dug into the palms of his hand. Kane kicked out his leg and threw all of his weight to one side and turned the grounder on his back. But before he could do anything, he was grabbed from behind and the blade of knife cut into the skin of his neck.

 

Before Kane could even contemplate the end of his life, there was a gurgling sound and he felt warm blood drip down onto his head. The blade at his throat dropped suddenly and he felt the weight of the grounder fall onto him. Kane jumped to his feet and grabbed the rifle he dropped, wincing slightly because of the wounds on his hands, and aimed in the direction he knew Monty and Clarke would be.

 

But there was already someone slicing into the neck of a grounder that had pinned Monty to the ground. A tall man kicked over the dead body and went on to engage with yet another grounder. Clarke was laying on her side with her hands bound behind her back. She was shouting for Monty to get up. Kane ran over to Clarke and quickly untied her, but he kept a cautious eye on their new friend. Monty had regained his weapon, but didn't seem to know who to shoot.

 

The tall man just put down the last attacker and turned back to them. He had long dark hair with markings on his face that Kane associated with the Ice Nation. His knife was hanging loosely in his hand as he walked towards where Kane was kneeling over Clarke. Kane's brain was working quickly. If there was a bounty on Clarke, it would make sense to take her in alone- no need to share the glory of capturing Wanheda.

 

Kane raised his rifle and targeted the mysterious man in his sights. The grounder stopped walking and raised his arms. "I just saved you and now you're going to shoot me?"

 

"Drop your weapon," shouted Kane. Clarke scrambled to her feet and Monty followed Kane's lead and trained his weapon on the grounder.

 

The grounder did as he was told and the knife fell to the ground, his arms still raised. "You don't want to shoot me."

 

"And why not?" asked Clarke as she rubbed her raw wrists.

 

"Because I'm trying to make sure you get to Polis. And you obviously need all the help you can get," he answered with a cocky grin. "I've been following you for about fourteen hours and you never noticed."

 

"He did save our lives," said Monty, but Kane could tell the young man was unsure and would do anything Kane ordered him to.

 

"I have orders to deliver Wanheda to Polis."

 

"From who?" demanded Clarke. "Who are you?"

 

The man smirked and replied, "That's not important. But I'll take her off your hands now, Skyon."

 

"Over my dead body," growled Kane as he glared down the barrel of his rifle.

 

"It almost was," reminded the grounder. "I should have let those men kill you first and taken Wanheda for myself."

 

"That's not my name!" Kane resisted the urge to look at Clarke when she shouted. He knew the idea of being the Commander of Death had been eating away at her for some time. The things Clarke had done, the people she had killed, was not due to malice or murderous intentions. She had done what was necessary to save her people- to save them all.

 

"Of course not, Clarke kom Skaikru. Based on how easily you were almost captured and how your guards here would have been murdered, I would say the Ice Queen is mistaken in assuming you would give her power. But I'm not here to bring you to Queen Nia."

 

"Then what do you want?" Kane still didn't trust this stranger.

 

Clarke walked a bit closer, but Kane and Monty could still take the grounder out with a single pull of the trigger. "You said you want to get me to Polis. That's where we're going. You could come with us."

 

"Clarke..." warned Kane, but Clarke took no heed.

 

The grounder just rolled his eyes. "It would be faster and safer if I took you alone. Those two would slow us down."

 

While Monty took the time to look mildly offended, Kane challenged, "If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already. Clarke, what are you doing?"

 

The young woman and walked forward to pick up the grounder's knife. "How about you tell me your name and we all get on our way?"

 

"They said you had an attitude."

 

"She's being nice," snapped Monty, his gun still in position.

 

"Fine," shrugged the grounder. "You can call me Roan."

 

Kane slowly lowered his gun. In times like these, Clarke’s instincts had never been wrong. This Roan person was right- if not for him, Kane and Monty would probably be dead and Clarke would be on her way to be murdered by the Queen. If Roan meant to see Clarke to Polis, then he’d be taking Kane and Monty with them. Not to mention, Kane was trying to create peace with the grounders; maybe peace could begin with Roan.

 

“My name is Marcus Kane. I’m on my way to speak to your Heda about a truce between our peoples.” Kane extended his arm to shake Roan’s hand as a sign of good faith.

 

Roan merely raised a curious eyebrow and turned his back. “I don’t have time for truces. Wanheda, let’s go.”


	11. Polis

Roan, the exiled prince of Azgeda, swung his blade to cut threw a particularly overgrown bush. The three Skaikru people he was now escorting to Polis were struggling behind him. He repressed the urge to sigh and roll his eyes. Not for the first time in the five hours they had been walking, Roan wished he had let the bounty hunters kill the two men. The kid didn’t speak at all, but Kane was beginning to get on his last nerve. 

In all of his years fighting, Roan had never met a warrior who asked as many questions as Kane was. First, it was about his loyalty and how could they be sure he wouldn’t kill them and take Clarke to Queen Nia. Kane hadn’t liked his answer: they couldn’t trust him nor could he provide any reason that he wouldn’t betray them. Then came questions about his facial scars. Kane seemed to know enough about the different grounder clans to realize he was from the Ice Nation. 

Even more frustrating was that Kane didn’t seem to be intimidated by a glare and instead continued to press for an answer. Part of Roan was impressed by this- he had heard rumors that the Skaikru leader was a worthy warrior and leader. But no one had mentioned Kane being stubbornly persistent. The only entertainment Roan currently had was reminding Kane that he would be dead if not for Roan. That usually shut him up for a while. 

The girl they called Wanheda was more puzzling than annoying. Clarke had a great likeness to the sketches that had been circulating between bounty hunters, but there was a fierceness missing from her eyes. Roan had known ruthless warriors in his time, but Clarke held pain within her. She carried her dead on her shoulders. A warrior couldn’t afford that- it makes them weak. 

Roan paused at a creek to collect some water. They were only about an hour away from Polis now. Kane walked up beside him and said, “I still don’t understand what you gain from brining Clarke to Lexa.” 

“Who said anything about Lexa?” asked Roan as he squatted next to the edge of the creek and drank his water. 

Kane kept a careful eye on where Clarke and Monty had taken a seat before answering, “The only person at Polis that would want Clarke alive is Lexa.” 

“Well, you aren’t an idiot,” Roan smirked and Kane rolled his eyes. 

“Neither is Clarke. She’s going to Polis for protection, not for herself, but for her people. She thought that if Wanheda stayed in Arkadia, it would bring a war we wouldn’t be prepared for. I want to know what you gain from not turning us in to Azgeda. Why would Lexa send you to bring Clarke back- not someone like Indra, who Clarke already trusts?” 

Roan rose to his feet to stand eye to eye with Kane. He knew that Kane was about a minute away from putting a bullet in him if he didn’t provide an answer. And Roan didn’t blame him. “There are many who feel that the Heda should consume Wanheda’s power by killing her. Lexa would be seen as weak if anyone knew she was trying to bring Clarke to Polis safely. I provide a certain set of skills and am very discreet.”

“I’m not doubting your skills, just your intentions.” 

The urge to punch Kane in that mouth that was always moving came to mind again. But Roan couldn’t fault the warrior for wanting to protect his charges- even if that meant trusting someone else to do it. Kane seemed like an honest man, so maybe honesty was the best course of action. “Lexa has promised a pardon for my exile in exchange for the safe return of Wanheda.” 

Kane opened his mouth as if to reply, but must have thought better of it and shut it again. With a stiff nod, Kane walked away from Roan to join Clarke and Monty, who were sitting upstream. Roan was shocked that Kane had nothing more to ask or demand a further explanation. In fact, if he had known five hours ago that Kane wouldn’t have asked him why he had been exiled and just accepted that answer, Roan would have already told him. 

For what felt like the thousandth time, Roan pushed the thought of throwing Clarke over his shoulder and just leaving Monty and Kane behind out of his mind. He capped the pouch he had just refilled with water and followed Kane to Clarke and Monty. “We are not far now. We’ll go in the back where Indra is supposed to be waiting for us. The less people who know you are in the city, Wanheda, the better it will be for everyone.” 

Forty-five minutes later, the group found themselves at the entrance to a tunnel that Roan assured them led into the Heda’s tower. Kane visibly relaxed when he saw that the guard waiting to escort them to Lexa was led by Indra. Kane hadn’t see the esteemed warrior since the explosion before Tondc and although the grounds and sky people had left each other on not so great terms, Indra looked happy to see him as well. Or at least she didn’t look as if she wanted to kill him, and that was good enough for Kane. 

“Welcome to Polis, Kane kom Skaikru. The Heda is waiting for you.” After greeting Kane, Indra’s eyes flickered over Clarke, and if Kane didn’t know better, he would have thought that Indra was nervous to see Clarke again. Then again, after the way Lexa and Indra abandoned Clarke at Mount Weather, he couldn’t blame her. “Clarke, it’s good to see you.” 

Swallowing her pride, Clarke answered, “You too.”

“If we stay out here telling each other how happy this occasion is, we’re all going to end up dead,” muttered Roan. Indra glared at him, but nevertheless turned on her heel to lead them into the tunnel. The walls were bare and from the look of the dust and dirt, this passage wasn’t used very often. They pushed through a door and found themselves in what appeared to be a hallway in the tower. 

Clarke didn’t realize she was holding her breath until they were ushered into a lift by the two guards flanking Indra. She did notice that all of the grounders were ignoring Roan’s presence and he was keeping silent at the back of the group. Kane and Indra made small talk in the lift, mainly about the city of Polis and the people gathered here. Clarke was only half listening, even though she probably should be paying attention. But now that the fear of not making it to Polis had vanished, the ever pressing thought of seeing Lexa again was beginning to nag at her. 

She had thought about this moment so many times when she was living alone in the forest. Sometimes she had imagined screaming and shouting and forcing Lexa listen to her rant about how betrayed she felt. In her dreams, the yelling always helped. But Clarke had a feeling that in real life, it wouldn’t be as satisfying. So she tried to imagine what she wanted to say to Lexa- the abandonment at Mount Weather was one thing, but the betrayal of Clarke’s heart was another. But a part of Clarke was constantly thinking that she had read the signs wrong, that Lexa was just manipulating her all along. 

“You ok?” Clarke nearly jumped out of her skin at Monty’s question. Her friend was looking at her with pity in his eyes and that only made Clarke feel worse. 

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Monty hesitated before replying, “Because the last time we saw Lexa was at Mount Weather.” 

“We don’t have time for grudges,” Clarke insisted, but she knew Monty saw right through it. Kane could let go of what happened in Mount Weather so easily in order to save his people now. But Kane had been betrayed by the Heda of the grounders, not the woman he had kissed in a war tent. 

“What are you going to say to her?” asked Monty. 

Clarke paused for a minute to think. The lift clanked to a stop and the guards rolled open the door. Indra and Kane led the way with Clarke and Monty not far behind and Roan bringing up the rear. They stopped in front of doors that Clarke assumed would lead to the Heda’s throne room. Turning her head to Monty, she whispered, “Nothing. I have nothing to say to her.” 

The doors to the throne room opened and the group proceeded in. Seeing Lexa upon her throne, her eyes covered in the dark paint, lips firm in a grim line, and muscular arms covered in black leather took Clarke’s breath away. In her head, Clarke had distorted her perception of Lexa. The anger, grief, and anguish had marred Lexa’s beauty in her mind. It was easier to think of Lexa as the enemy, than as the woman she had kissed. 

“Mounin, Skaikru,” said a bald man with tattoos circling his head, in the most unwelcoming tone of voice. He seemed to be speaking for Lexa, who was staring straight ahead at her guests. 

“Mochof. Ai don kom hir gon sis Heda au,” spoke Kane in rough trigedasleng that Lincoln must have taught him while Clarke was away. She was impressed by his attempts to learn the language of the people they were asking for help. Indra also looked mildly impressed, but the man standing between them and Lexa looked as if Kane’s attempts to speak his language disgusted him. 

“Although it is an honor for you to learn our language, everyone here speaks English, Councilor Kane,” spoke Lexa from her throne. The bald man glared at the Sky People before turning back to Lexa, who dismissed him to the side of her throne with a wave of her hand. “I must say it is a surprise to see you here in Polis.” 

Kane looked relieved that he didn’t have to carry out the entire conversation in trigedasleng. Now more confident, he stepped forward to seek the Heda’s help. “I am no longer a Councilor in Arkadia. I’ve come to warn you and your people about what is to come. Our new Chancellor seeks war with your people.” 

The bald man hissed and started to speak, but Lexa cut him off. “Let him talk, Titus. He has come to us peacefully.” 

“Charles Pike leads the Sky People now and he seeks justice for the lives that the Ice Nation took from him. He also has plans to expand Arkadia into Trikru territory.” Kane glanced sideways to observe Indra, who cursed under her breath, but otherwise did not interrupt him. “Unfortunately, there are many who see his point of view. But there are those of us who don’t want a war.” 

“A war is what you will get if Skaikru attacks Trikru or Azgeda,” replied Lexa firmly. “But if Azgeda has committed crimes against your people since the truce went into place, you deserve justice.” 

Kane hesitated before saying, “I’m not sure that the attacks took place after the truce was made.”

“Then I don’t know if I can help you.” Lexa leaned forward in her chair to look closely at him. “But you are hear in peace, so maybe we can reach an agreement.” 

“That is all I ask, Heda,” murmured Kane respectfully. 

Lexa’s eyes finally left Kane to look at Clarke and Monty standing behind him. “I’m glad to see you alive, Clarke.” 

“No thanks to you,” spat Clarke bitterly. All the talk before to Monty about how she had nothing to say to Lexa had been forgotten as soon as she had laid eyes on her. Lexa briefly closed her eyes at Clarke’s less than friendly words. 

Before Lexa could reply, Titus stepped forward with a snarl, “Lexa had you brought here for your protection! You will show the Heda some respect!” 

“She isn’t my Heda,” Clarke practically growled at Titus before stepped in front of Kane to address Lexa. “You ordered some guy to kidnap me and bring me here against my will?!” 

“I was keeping you safe,” responded Lexa calmly, but a faint pink color had rose in her cheeks.

“You didn’t think I could protect myself, but I was the one who brought down the Mountain. I am Wanheda! You turned tail and ran away!” 

“Clarke…” warned Kane as a few of the guards muttered angrily, but the young woman was full of guilt and anger and she was finally able to burn some of it. 

“We came here to warn you of what Pike has planned! I didn’t come here for safety!”

Lexa rose to her feet and walked down the dais to stand eye to eye with Clarke. Lexa’s heart was beating quickly and her throat felt dry. Clarke had every reason to scream at her and accuse her of a number of awful things. But she was the Heda, not Clarke’s friend. Not that Clarke would consider her a friend any longer. With an even tone that she had spent years perfecting, she said, “I think it would be better if I discussed these problems with Kane. I have a room made up for you and you can wait there until I have settled the matter of your bounty with Queen Nia.” 

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say- after all that you’ve done…you send me to my room?” Clarke was breathing heavily now and her hands were balled into fists. Monty tentatively walked to Clarke’s side and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Clarke, maybe we should let them talk.” Giving Lexa one last glare, Clarke allowed Monty to lead her back to the door. A guard motioned for them to follow and with a slam of the door, they were gone. 

Clarke left an uncomfortable silence in her wake. With a small sigh, Lexa walked back to her throne to sit down again. Clearing her throat, she addressed those in her throne room, “I would like to speak to Kane alone. Titus and Indra may remain, but the rest of you are dismissed.” 

The guards vacated the room on her order, but a frowning Roan remained behind. “What of our deal, Heda?” 

“I will speak with you at another time. Please, leave us,” repeated Lexa as she tapped her fingers on the arm rest of her throne, obviously annoyed by Roan’s persistent presence. Titus stepped forward as if to physically remove Roan from the room. 

“We will speak later. I expect you to hold up your end of this bargain,” said Roan before finally exiting the room, leaving Lexa with Titus, Indra, and Kane. 

Kane spoke first, his faced lined with worry. “What can you do to protect Clarke?” 

“I plan on ending the bounty, but Queen Nia will be hard to convince. But all of the leaders of our coalition will be here soon, so I can discuss it then. We will hold a vote.” Lexa glanced in Titus’ direction as if to gauge his reaction as she continued. “One way I have thought of to end these troubles, and those you bring to me to today, is to make Skaikru the thirteenth clan of the coalition.” 

“Heda!” cried Titus in surprise. “The others will never have it! You could ruin all you have worked towards!” 

“My goal as Heda was to bring peace to the twelve clans, was it not? And have I not succeeded in this?” challenged Lexa. “But now there is a thirteenth tribe that threatens that peace. If I bring Skaikru into the coalition, Queen Nia will be forced to withdraw her bounty on Clarke’s head and Chancellor Pike will not attack! There will be no war! What do you think, Indra?” 

Indra stepped forward when she was addressed by name. “I hesitate to agree with Titus, Heda. But perhaps we should take caution before naming Skaikru the thirteenth clan.” 

“I agree with Indra, Heda,” interrupted Kane as he ran his fingers over his beard nervously. “I have no authority to make this decision for my people. Pike is chancellor now…” 

“And you think he would not agree?” asked Lexa. 

“I think he wants blood.” 

“We are not that different,” muttered Indra under her breath. Kane couldn’t help but agree. Blood must have blood. He had heard that too many times in the presence of grounders. And Pike was just as blood thirsty. 

“If I call on this Chancellor Pike to attend the coalition proceedings as a guest, do you think he would come?” 

“The others will never allow it!” repeated Titus, this time more fervently. “Heda, think about what you are saying! A truce is one thing, but welcoming a man who is openly declaring war against your people to sit at your table is another!”

“We have resolved our problems with the Sky People before, even if that relationship is strained now, I do not wish to see war.” 

Kane nodded in agreement. “Many of my people do not want to see us fighting again. I believe that we should give Pike a chance to respond and perhaps we can settle all of this without bloodshed.” 

Lexa thought quietly for a moment. “There would be much to discuss, especially if your Chancellor is planning on taking Trikru land.” 

“We will not stand by silently, Heda, if Skaikru attacks our villages,” warned Indra. 

“I agree. If your Chancellor does not see reason, we will have no choice. But I learned a great deal from our previous experiences…especially from Clarke,” admitted Lexa without a trace of resentment. “Sometimes, it is easier to prevent the bloodshed than to talk after so many have been killed needlessly.” 

“I’m happy to hear you say that,” replied Kane. “I would offer to speak to Pike for you, but I’m afraid I’ve committed treason by coming here. Perhaps you could send a messenger...” 

“It will be done,” ordered Lexa firmly. She stood gracefully and presented her hand for Kane to shake, as Clarke had taught her before. “I’m afraid I was not prepared for you, but rooms are being made up as we speak for you and the other boy.” 

Before Kane could reply, a guard opened the door of the throne room. Titus immediately said, “Chit yu gaf?” 

“Ai don som kom tel Heda op.” 

“Gouva klin,”demanded Lexa.

The guard stepped forward, glaring all the while at Kane. “Veida tro kom Skaikru don jomp Trikru op en don frag fiti em op.” 

Indra stepped forward in anger and Kane knew enough of the grounder language to realize that Pike had attacked her people. Seething, Indra cried, “Jus drein jus daun!”

With dark eyes, Lexa turned back to Kane. “I’m afraid it may be too late for peace. Your Chancellor has committed acts of war.”

“I understand,” answered Kane bitterly. He tried to avoid eye contact with an irate Indra or the smug Titus. “But I ask for asylum for my people who do not wish for war.” 

“I will speak to the leaders during our gathering. But I cannot make promises, Kane.” Lexa addressed Indra now, “Go prepare your warriors. But you will wait for my orders. Only engage with Skaikru if they threaten your people.” 

Indra and the guard left without another word. Lexa once more spoke to Kane. “You will have a place here until a decision is made. But you will be confined to your rooms.” 

“I understand.” 

Kane was then ushered out of the throne room and down several floors on the lift before he was guided, or rather roughly pushed, into what he assumed were quarters of his own. He could hear shouting out of the window and what he saw beneath the tower took his breath away. Thousands of grounders had gathered in Polis and were learning of the Sky People’s treachery against Trikru. Warriors shouted their solidarity for revenge and were preparing to march to protect their families. 

He turned away from the window with an empty feeling in his chest. He was too late. He may have succeeded in protecting Clarke, but he was too late to prevent a war. And by the looks of all those who had gathered in Polis, the war that was looming was one the people of Arkadia would not be able to win, no matter how many guns and bullets they had at their disposal. Pike had no idea what he was doing and now, Kane was trapped here, away from his people. 

There would be no sleeping tonight. He trusted Indra to wait to attack Arkadia directly, until Lexa could discuss it with the other leaders of the coalition. But he didn’t trust Pike to send their soldiers to attack anyone he deemed a threat. As he sat in an uncomfortable chair all night, Kane’s only prayer was that Abby remained safe behind the walls of Arkadia until he could find some way to stop all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:   
> Mounin: Welcome  
> Mochof: Thank you  
> Ai don kom hir gon sis Heda au: I have come here for Heda’s help (very rough/incorrect translation by Kane)  
> Chit yu gaf?: What do you want?  
> Ai don som kom tel Heda op: I have something to tell the Heda.   
> Gouva klin: Explain/Tell me  
> Veida tro kom Skaikru don jomp Trikru op en don frag em op: An army/enemy troop of the Sky People attacked Trikru and killed 50 of them. (very rough translation- still getting the hang of this language thing)


	12. On the Home Front

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I apologize once more for how late this chapter is. This time my computer is pretty much dead, but apparently it won’t cost that much to get it fixed. So I’m waiting for them to get it back. Unfortunately that means that I’ve had to rewrite some chapters on my roommate’s computer at night when she isn’t using it. Please enjoy this chapter and cross your fingers that I get my computer back soon.

If ALIE was human, people would say that she was a patient woman. But the A.I. was merely a product of her coding. ALIE had a purpose, and she didn’t care how long it took to accomplish said purpose. Jaha had a need to get things done quickly, but ALIE understood this was due to the fleeting lives of humans. That being said, Jaha listened to her instructions carefully and was slowly filling the City of Light.

Today, ALIE and Jaha would be making a huge step towards their goal. Jaha had gathered a few of their followers to convince an old friend to join them in the City. Jaha was standing by the door while the floaters Astrid Rolston, Darius Marlowe, Elias Abbot, and Dr. Whalen sat around a table. ALIE was in the chair at the head of the table, her legs crossed in her red dress. In order to bring the entirety of Arkadia into the City, there were three obstacles in their way: Charles Pike, Marcus Kane, and Abby Griffin.

ALIE knew from the destructive path that Pike was on, he wouldn’t be in their way for long. And Marcus Kane had just left for Polis with Clarke Griffin, so that left Abby Griffin. Abby had already made her disdain for what Jaha was doing known, but she left her old friend alone. But the time was coming when they would need her help to convince all of Arkadia to accept the key. Which is why Jaha had invited Jake Griffin to join them today.

Jake walked through the door, his hands stuck into his pockets, and eyes downcast. But he stopped suddenly when he saw who was in the room. He glanced at Jaha and asked, “Are we having secret ‘I’ve Been Floated’ meetings now?”

Jaha chuckled and replied, “No. But I know that you all have become friends since we woke you up. And I think it’s time to tell you about the City of Light.”

“I wondered when we were going to talk about that,” said Jake, clearly surprised. It wasn’t a secret in Arkadia that Jaha had begun to gather people for his mysterious City, but because of Jake’s closeness to Abby and Clarke, ALIE had told Jaha to wait to approach his old friend. But now, ALIE had found out that Abby had put space between her and Jake and it was time.

“Have a seat,” smiled Jaha as they joined the others at the table. ALIE was sitting at the head of the table, with Jaha taking a seat directly to her right. Jake gave a curious look at the chair that he perceived as empty, but didn’t say anything. Everyone else at the table was a part of the City of Light. “What do you think you know about the City of Light?”

“I’m not sure I know anything…” Jake admitted. “You have told other people that it’s a type of peace…like a state of nirvana.”

“It’s much more than that.”

Jake’s eyes flitted curiously over the table. Everyone was sitting silently except for Jaha. “Abby thinks it’s nonsense. That you’ve completely lost it.”

Jaha chuckled at this and ALIE smiled. Abby was skeptical about the key, as were most who they had approached. But Jaha was persuasive and a true believer and people trusted him. And once a few had taken the key and could share their experiences with others, those who sought out the peace that the City offered came uninhibited. “Abby is a scientist. I would think she had completely lost it if she didn’t question me. Dr. Whalen, would you care to enlighten Jake why you chose to accept the key to the City of Light?”

The old man smiled and nodded. Jake had known Dr. Whalen for a long time, because he had been Abby’s mentor. “When Thelonious told me about the City, I felt the same way Abby did. But he explained to me how the key works. It’s not some sort of drug in the traditional way. It’s a silicon based device that connects to the brain stem. From there it can block pain receptors to the brain.”

“So you think it’s safe?” asked Jake skeptically.

“It’s safer than life,” assured Dr. Whalen, but Jake still didn’t look convinced. ALIE wasn’t worried; they had been expecting this. Jake Griffin was intelligent and naturally curious. But Earth had not had time to change him as it had the others. So ALIE had an advantage- Jaha knew Jake Griffin.

“Why not just tell this to Abby? Why are you talking to me?”

“Because you’re ready to enter the City. Even if I explained the science to Abby, I wouldn’t be able to explain that it is so much more than a way to cure the physical manifestation of pain. We are trying to save the human race,” answered Jaha.

“What is the City of Light?”

“It’s a place where our souls can survive without the pain and horror of the physical world. Of course we will remain here, on Earth, but the City is always there for us. Imagine, Jake, a world where when our physical bodies fail us, our consciousness will still exist.”

Jake glanced around the table. “So everyone here is in the City of Light?”

“Not at the moment.” This time it was Astrid who spoke. “We’re here, with you.”

“It’s actually not that bad,” commented Darius. Darius had been a couple of years ahead of Jake in school and they had both studied engineering. “I was pretty skeptic at first. But if ALIE kept us alive all that time, why would she lead us astray now?”

The mention of ALIE’s name caused Jake to look back at Jaha. “Who or what is ALIE?”

“She’s an A.I. She is an integral part of the City- in fact, you could consider her the City. She’s been trying to save humanity.”

“It’s in her programming, Griffin. ALIE is literally programmed to save us all,” added Darius.

ALIE watched Jake’s expressions closely. He trusted Dr. Whalen and Jaha and he was listening to Darius. ALIE would never be able to understand why humans were so distrusting of something new- especially when it was there to save them from themselves.

“Will this help us protect Arkadia from the grounders?” asked Jake, still not will to give into his friend’s urgings.

“In the City of Light, there is no war. There would be no difference between us and them,” murmured Astrid.

Dr. Whalen leaned across the table to pat Jake’s hand. “Do this for Abby and Clarke. You would be so lucky to have your family with you in the City of Light. I know that you are hurting right now, but by taking the key, you won’t have the pain of Abby leaving you…but your family will be safe. If…”

“Your husband, Leonard,” provided ALIE at Whalen’s hesitation.

“If my husband, Leonard could be here, in the City with me, it would be a dream come true. But I no longer feel the pain of his loss. My heart is healed, Jake.” Jake was too preoccupied to notice Dr. Whalen’s slip. ALIE knew he was contemplating his broken heart at the moment. She nodded at Jaha to take the key out of his pocket and walk around the table to put it in Jake’s hand.

“Take it for your own heart, my friend. Take the key and we can bring Abby and all of the others here into the City of Light. Then we can go save Clarke.”

With trembling hands, Jake held the key to the City of Light. At the head of the table, ALIE was smiling triumphantly. She knew they had convinced him. But Jake had one last question. “If this is supposed to save us, why not force everyone to take it.”

Jaha smiled at ALIE. He had expected this question and knew that Jake would like the answer. “Because each one of us has to make the decision to be saved. In order to enter the City of Light, you must do it on your own. ALIE cannot take away your free will.”

ALIE and her followers watched as Jake nodded and brought the key up to his lips. Abby pushing Jake away was the break they had needed to bring Jake into the City. He was desperate to end his heartbreak and bring his family back together.

Jake closed his eyes and swallow the key. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the woman in red sitting at the end of the table. “Welcome to the City of Light, Jake Griffin.”

 

* * *

 

Sinclair was huddled over a con station when Wick burst into the room. Sinclair barely glanced up as Wick started pacing and ranting. “Raven broke up with me last night! I thought she just got angry with me and was blowing off steam when she told me to get the hell out of her life! She slept somewhere else last night and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Raven’s having a tough time,” muttered Sinclair, but it was clearly not what the younger man wanted to hear.

“Hard time? Hard time?” shouted Wick. “What about me? Damn woman made me fall in love with her and then just like that- she’s done!”

“Are you sure you didn’t do something to piss her off?” asked a highly agitated Sinclair, finally tearing himself away from the computer. “Because Raven isn’t crazy- you’re the crazy one in the relationship.”

Wick shrugged and answered, “I don’t know what I said this time. I mean I’m always saying something wrong…and she’s not the most patient person on Earth…”

“Tell me what happened,” said Sinclair with a deep sigh. Ever since Wick had started dating Raven, Sinclair often found himself counselling the other man. Sinclair guessed that since he was the closest thing to family that Raven had besides Abby, Wick assumed he would be able to shed insight on the inner workings of Raven’s mind.

“I don’t know. She’s been in more pain lately and I made a new brace for her. I really thought I was doing something nice…” Wick finally pulled up a chair to sit down next to him. He rested his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands. “And she gave me this whole speech about how I keep trying to fix her and how Abby keeps trying to fix her and how you have been giving her easy assignments.”

“I am not giving her-” started Sinclair, but then realized that wasn’t the issue at hand. He rested a sympathetic hand on Wick’s shoulder. “She’s in constant pain. We have to be patient.”

“But she’s talking nonsense,” Wick whined and he shook his head. “I just want to help her…”

“I know you do. We all do.”

“I’m just worried about her. She’s been talking about trying that stupid pill that Jaha has been pushing again. I told her that was stupid-”

“Probably shouldn’t have done that,” muttered Sinclair.

With a groan, Wick pushed back his chair and resumed pacing. “Yeah, but Jaha is nuts. And she thinks so too or at least she used to.”

“No one can tell Raven what to do. Not even Jaha. So let her calm down a bit. You can stay here with me.” Sinclair turned back to the computer and resumed typing. Pouting, Wick pulled up a stool next to him.

“Is this the program you’re using to undermine Pike?”

“Yeah, he thinks there’s something wrong with the communication relays, but really, I have been rerouting the signals. It keeps Pike from being able to fix it and he won’t send out troops too far away without radios. Keeps us and the grounders safe.”

“Good plan.”

“I’d take credit for it, but it was Monty’s idea.” Sinclair wished he could do more to help with the small group of rebels that remained in Arkadia, but he wasn’t a fighter nor did he know the outside world well enough to help warn the grounder villages.

Not that it was making a difference. Lincoln and Octavia had set out at the same time that Kane and Clarke had left to warn nearby villages, but Lincoln was an outcast and Octavia was Skaikru. The grounder mentality was to fight- even if it meant dying in the process. The majority of the warriors from each village had gone to Polis, but even those who had been sent back to help fight against the Sky People were no match for the automatic rifles that Pike and his men possessed.

The door swung open once again and this time it was Harper and Miller who rushed in. Harper quickly shut the door behind them and turned around with panic in her eyes. Miller had a similar look on his face and Sinclair and Wick both stood up in concern. In a hushed voice, Miller whispered, “They know. They know we helped Kane and Clarke get out. And they know we’re communicating with Lincoln and Octavia.”

“How?!” asked Sinclair in concern. “I sweep the room for bugs every time we meet.”

“We don’t know, but they’re coming for us.” Miller glanced at the door nervously. “Bryan warned me. He’s keeping watch down the hall. We need to go now!”

“Go where exactly?” asked Wick. “Any grounder we meet is going to kill us on the spot!”

Wick turned to Sinclair for an answer, but the older man was already packing up a bag they had stashed for just such an emergency. He ignored Wick’s question and addressed Miller. “We need to warn Abby and Raven.”

“Do you think Abby will leave?” asked Harper and a silence fell over the room.

Finally, Sinclair replied, “We still need to warn her. But the rest of us need to leave. Grab your bags and get out. We’ll meet at the rendezvous point in two hours. I’ll go get Abby. If everyone isn’t at the rendezvous point in two hours, then assume we’ve been captured and leave. Head for Polis and tell Kane what’s happened. We don’t have time for goodbyes…”

Harper peeked out the door to check if the hallway was clear. She and Miller quickly jogged down the hallway where Bryan was waiting and the three took off to grab their bags and leave Arkadia. Sinclair headed toward Medical, which left Wick to search for Raven. They had their fight in their tent, but he knew she wouldn’t be there so he headed down to the garage. Hopefully she was pouring her anger into one of the Rovers.

Keeping his head down, Wick maneuvered through the halls of the Ark, just narrowly avoiding several of Pike’s guardsmen who were probably on the hunt for their little rebel group. He hoped that the others were close to getting out. The garage looked empty when he entered, but just as he was about to leave he saw Raven sitting on the floor in the corner with her eyes closed.

“Raven!” He hissed as he ran over to her. “Come on we have to go!”

But Raven didn’t seem to notice he was there. Wick rolled his eyes and added, “I know you’re pissed at me, but Pike is looking for us. We need to go now!”

Raven’s eyes blinked open and Wick was shocked by how calm her expression was. Suddenly, her lips curved into a smile. With bright eyes that he had only ever seen filled with pain, Raven greeted him. “Hello, Kyle.”

“Ummm…hello to you too.” He glanced nervously around the garage, but they were still alone. “Raven, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, but we’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

Slowly Raven stood up without flinching and Wick took a step back. Something wasn’t right. Every alarm bell in Wick’s mind was going off. This wasn’t his girlfriend- or ex-girlfriend. Still smiling, Raven said, “Everything is better now. The pain is gone…I’m free.”

Realization dawned on Wick and he felt his stomach turn. “You took Jaha’s pill.”

Raven nodded at his accusation without hesitation. “It’s not a pill. It’s a key. A key to the City of Light. I can’t leave, Kyle. I have work to do here.”

“Look, I don’t know what nonsense Jaha told you, but Pike isn’t going to let you just hang around. He’s coming for us and he’ll probably try us for treason.”

Raven shook her head. “It isn’t nonsense. Everything Jaha told us was true. Aren’t you happy for me? I’m pain-free!”

“Of course I’m happy for you- I love you. But I loved you with the pain,” insisted Wick. They were running out of time. But there was no way he was going to leave her here for Pike to lock up or worse, execute. “Raven, we can talk about this later. Right now, we have to meet the others.”

But she didn’t move. Instead, Raven reached into her pocked and removed a little blue pill with the infinity symbol and held it out to Wick. “Take it, Kyle. You have no idea what ALIE can show you.”

“Raven, this isn’t a good idea. You aren’t thinking straight. Abby is going to meet us at the emergency rendezvous point. She can look you over there…”

But Raven was still offering the key to him. With a smile Wick would have loved to see on her face under any other situation, she said again, “Take the key. I want you to be happy with me.”


	13. Taim Kik Raun Haihefa

**Chapter 12: Taim Kik Raun Haihefa**

 

Clarke was pacing again. It seemed like every time Kane saw her in the past couple of days, Clarke was pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. Monty had quit trying to calm her down after a few hours. The young man was lounging in a chair with his eyes closed and legs propped up on another chair. Kane had just come back from a meeting with Lexa’s council and announced that Queen Nia was arriving in Polis this afternoon.

 

“I thought she was refusing to participate- she sent a representative,” complained Clarke, but she didn’t even pause in her pacing.

 

Kane sighed and reminded her, “Lexa pushed him off the balcony yesterday.” It had been quite the event. Kane and Clarke had been invited to a meeting with all the representatives of the Coalition so she could introduce the representatives of Skaikru. They weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms from any of the representatives, but the representative from Azgeda had been out for blood.

 

“Lexa never thinks about her actions!”

 

“Lexa was dealing with someone challenging her authority. It’s the grounder way,” reasoned Kane, although he didn’t agree with the Heda’s actions any more than Clarke did. But the Azgeda representative had wanted Lexa to murder Clarke, so Kane wasn’t openly disagreeing with Lexa’s decision to push him out the window.

 

Clarke was still fuming about it and Kane figured that it had less to do with Lexa’s most recent murder, but with what happened at Mount Weather. Clarke and Lexa had barely exchanged more than a few words and it wasn’t for the Heda’s lack of trying. Even on the brink of war with Pike and Azgeda, Lexa had sought Clarke out several times. But she had been met with a closed door every time.

 

“Well now they’re all going to get what they want- a needless war!”

 

There was a shuffle outside of the double doors that Kane, Clarke, and Monty waited behind and two guards entered before their Heda. Lexa was wearing her armor and had her customary black eye make-up on. Her sword hung at her hip and she kept a hand on the hilt as she waved with the other one to dismiss the guards.

 

“What can we do for you, Heda?” asked Kane politely. Monty stood quickly when he realized who was in the room, but Clarke just huffed in Lexa’s general direction.

 

Lexa’s eyes were dark and Kane knew this was not a meeting he was going to like the outcome of. He braced himself for bad news and bad news he received. “Pike has struck down Indra’s defenses and moves into Trikru land, slaughtering all in his way. He hung up the messenger we sent three days ago as a show of good faith. We are at war with Skaikru.”

 

“No,” gasped Monty. The poor kid had been holding out hope that someone could talk some sense into Pike and if Pike was out there fighting, that meant that his mom was too. “Let me go! I can talk to him- he listens to my mom!”

 

Walking over to Monty, Kane put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “I’m afraid we’re beyond words now.”

 

Lexa nodded in agreement and cast her gaze to Clarke who had finally stopped pacing and was just glaring at Lexa. “I have managed to arrange a pardon for you three since you were here when the acts of war where committed-”

 

“What about the others in Arkadia?”

 

Lexa sighed and admitted, “I have no intention of holding court for every individual. The people of Skaikru made Pike their leader and must now live with consequences. Once Queen Nia’s demands have been heard, the coalition has voted to move against Arkadia as one army.”   
  
“We don’t stand a chance,” breathed Kane. He turned away with a hand on his chest. There were too many innocent people who were left in Arkadia. Fear had led to Pike’s election and now the danger was real. As much as he tried to focus on all the people in Arkadia, only one face kept floating into his mind: Abby Griffin.

 

“I have made one condition to save your people,” spoke Lexa, her eyes locked on Clarke. “I felt I owed you that much.”

 

Clarke looked at her with suspicion. “You mean for abandoning us to the Mount Men?”

 

“That and so much more,” murmured Lexa. “Please, hear me out. If you can bring the Coalition Charles Pike and he stands trial for his crimes, we will stand down against the people of Arkadia.”

 

Monty sat back down and rested his forehead in his hand while muttering, “He’ll never turn himself in. He thinks he’s doing the right thing.”

 

“Maybe we can talk to him,” argued Clarke but Kane was already shaking his head. “Well, how are we going to get him here?”

 

“I think we should kidnap him.”

 

Clarke looked at Kane like he had lost his mind. “Kidnap him?”

 

Lexa looked between Clarke and Kane, very confused. “Kidnap?”

 

“I meant, we should capture Pike and bring him to Polis,” explained Kane and Lexa nodded in agreement. Monty looked a little skeptical, but Kane knew that the young man would do what was asked of him.

 

Clarke crossed her arms across her chest. “You just want to go back to Arkadia, tie up Pike, and drag him back to Polis? Did you forget the part where we committed treason? Or how Pike walks around with an entourage of people armed with guns?”

 

“According to my scouts, Pike isn’t at Arkadia. He’s leading his fighters,” mentioned Lexa, but Clarke seemed to ignore her.

 

Kane sighed and rubbed his beard with trepidation. “If he’s out in the forest, we could find a way to ambush him. We could find Lincoln and Octavia.”

 

“We’d need help. Like inside help...”

 

Monty suggested, “We could try to get in contact with Jasper, Miller, and the others.”

 

“I will go now,” said Lexa gently. The Heda was holding her head high, but Kane could see the way she was glancing every so often at Clarke, but the other girl was doing an impressive job of ignoring her.

 

“Good luck with the Ice Queen,” offered Monty with a small smile. Lexa acknowledged his statement and turned quickly to walk back out of the room. The guards shut the doors behind her, leaving the Sky People to discuss the problem amongst themselves.

 

For a brief moment, Clarke seemed to be watching her leave and Kane could see a lost look in her eyes that he had once had for her mother. But as soon as the door shut, the look was gone and Clarke was back in her planning mode. They had people to save- there was no time for lost love.

 

“Monty, what are the chances of getting in contact with Jasper or Miller?” asked Kane.

 

“It depends…Jasper wasn’t in a good place when I left. If they were smart, no one would have given him a gun. It’s possible that he’s still in Arkadia,” reasoned Monty. “As for the others, I don’t know.”

 

Kane sat down and rested his elbows on his knees. They had one too many problems for just three people. Even if they could escape Polis, which he reckoned they would not be allowed to leave easily, they would be locked up for treason the moment they stepped foot in Arkadia. But something had to be done. Standing back up he looked at the two teenagers before him. “We’ll leave tomorrow to find Lincoln and Octavia. In the mean time we will come up with a plan to contact the others. I’ll go find Indra to see if she can help us get out of here.”

 

Kane left without confirmation of the plan by Monty or Clarke, but they both knew it was probably the only option. Monty let out a deep sigh and slumped back into the chair he had been in before Lexa had brought them the bad news. Mumbling, he asked Clarke, “Mind if I just hang here for a while?”

 

“Yeah, no problem.” Clarke wandered over to the window. They were about halfway up the tower, so she had a perfect view over the grounder capital city. They had been in the tower for three days, but had never been allowed to venture out. This had made Kane restless as he naturally wanted to see the city that Indra was constantly describing. Clarke on the other hand, wasn’t sure she even wanted to be in Polis.

 

When they had first arrived, the area below them had been filled with vendors and people milling about trading items and stories. Children had ran free through the streets while they played games. But after word spread that Skaikru had attacked Trikru and they were at war, the normal bustle had been sedated. Tonight was even worse as soldiers that Clarke assumed were Ice Nation lined the streets in support of their Queen who was at the top of the tower with Lexa.

 

Clarke turned away from the window and laid down on her bed. She curled her knees up to her chest and sighed. After freeing her people from the Mountain, Clarke had needed time to herself. But she had somehow been foolish enough to believe that they wouldn’t be fighting again so soon. She just wanted a break. She wanted to go back to Arkadia and have a normal dinner with her mother and father. She wanted to sit across a table from Lexa and talk- really talk. But that was never going to happen. They were at war again and people were going to die.

 

A knock on the door brought Clarke out of her restless slumber. Monty was already opening the door as Clarke swung her legs off the bed and stood up. To her surprise, and Monty’s, Lexa stood on the other side. This time she was not accompanied by guards nor was she wearing her sword or cape. Monty shifted awkwardly to the side so Lexa could enter.

 

“I’m guessing you’re here to talk to Clarke…” he said awkwardly to the Heda. “I’ll just go find Kane.”

 

Lexa waited to speak until after Monty shut the door behind him. Clarke remained motionless by her bed, not daring to ask why Lexa had returned. Clearing her throat, Lexa said, “I wanted to let you know that Queen Nia will not be a problem after tomorrow. She has challenged my leadership and has demanded a challenge of single combat at dawn.”

 

Confused, Clarke asked, “How do you know she won’t be a problem? How do you know that your warrior will win?”

 

“I will win, because I will be fighting.”

 

“What?” Clarke stepped towards Lexa in concern. She stopped a few steps away, unsure of what to do. Part of her was still angry with Lexa; the betrayal was still fresh. But hearing that Lexa would be fighting to the death in the morning left her with feelings that she had long suppressed.

 

“I will be fighting Prince Rowan at dawn,” repeated Lexa. The strong Heda looked almost nervous as she stood in front of Clarke.

 

Another thought came to Clarke’s mind. “Why are you telling me this?”

 

“I wish…” Lexa hesitated and blushed slightly before continuing. “I wish you would come. I would like to see you there.”

 

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” replied Clarke stubbornly. But with the candles burning around them and the faint flush on Lexa’s cheeks, Clarke was transported back to the tent where they kissed before storming Mount Weather. Even though Clarke wasn’t sure at the time if she was ready for something more with Lexa, the kiss had been seared into her memory. The thought of Lexa’s lips had kept her awake for hours as she went over the moment again and again. There had been promise in that kiss and for so long, Clarke had though that promise had been ruined when Lexa betrayed her. But now she wasn’t so sure.

 

Lexa nodded in acknowledgment of Clarke’s words. “It would mean a lot to me if you were there. But I understand that there is still problems between us. I just wanted to say to you in person that I am sorry that I hurt you. Although it was unavoidable, I wish I could take back how my decision impacted our…friendship.”

 

“But you’d do it again, wouldn’t you?” Clarke already knew the answer and didn’t bother to say anything more. Lexa would always do what was necessary to save her own people; just as Clarke would.

 

“Goodbye and good luck, Clarke. I hope that the next time we see each other will be in peace.” Lexa turned and walked back to the door. She paused before pushing the door open. “I want you to know that I care, Clarke. I have always cared about you. Please be safe.”

 

With that, Lexa was gone and Clarke was alone. The candles flickered in the darkness and Clarke took a deep breath. She was tempted to run after Lexa and kiss her and beg her not to fight tomorrow. But she was still angry and Lexa would never change her mind. And for that, Clarke respected her. No one would die for the Heda; the Heda would fight for herself.

 

A question ran through her mind: would she be able to forgive herself if she didn’t go tomorrow and Lexa died? Her gut told her she wasn’t going to like the answer. Without a second thought, Clarke stalked out of her room to find Kane and Monty to tell them of her decision.

 

* * *

 

 

The sky was red as the sun burned over the horizon. Dawn was beautiful on Earth and something that Clarke hoped she would never take for granted. But this morning, she wasn’t concerned with beauty. All of Polis was crowded around the fighting ring where Queen Nia and her nightblood had already taken their position on a raised stage. Lexa’s right hand man, Titus, stood next to them with a grim expression on his face. Of course, for all Clarke knew, that was his natural look as she had never seen the grounder smile or express anything other than disgust.

 

Through the dust in the arena, Clarke caught sight of Lexa pulling her sword from the sheath held by one of her guards. Lexa turned around with the blade gleaming in her hand and Clarke dropped back the hood she wore when Lexa’s eyes roamed over the crowd. For a brief second, their eyes met and Clarke felt her chest tighten. She nodded at the Heda and she was met with stern eyes and a brief dip of her chin. But as Lexa turned back to face her opponent, her shoulders straightened and she held her head higher. And in that moment, Clarke was glad she came.

 

Titus raised his hands and a hush fell over the crow. “Hashta soulou gonplei, bilaik won hedon noumou: du souda wan op deyon!”

 

Clarke knew the rules of single combat- you win or you die. Her heart raced at the thought of seeing Lexa killed in this dusty arena surrounded by a sea of unfriendly faces. She squinted into the sun to stare at the Ice Nation Queen. The woman sat in that throne as if she was the Heda and it made Clarke’s insides churn. How dare she come to Polis and demand that Lexa be removed from her throne- where was Queen Nia when Lexa saved the grounders from the Mountain Men?

 

The crowd cheered as Rowan stepped up in front of Lexa with his own sword. Clarke couldn’t help but remember how Rowan had easily cut down the grounders that had attacked Kane, Monty, and herself in the forest. Although she had never seen Lexa in combat, Rowan was one of the best warriors she had seen. But there was no fear on Lexa’s face as Titus yelled over the commotion: “Yo na jomp in!”

 

Rowan swung first, but Clarke knew he probably had no intention of actually hitting Lexa. It was a test to get an idea of how fast the Heda was going to react. Lexa calmly stepped back to avoid his blade and brought her own out in front of her. This time there was the sound of clashing metal as the two grounders began the battle in full. The crowd cheered with every blow and swing of a sword. Clarke tried to tune out those around her who were cheering for the fight itself, not either opponent.

 

Metal screeched as their swords became intertwined. Clarke wasn’t sure her heart could beat any faster as she watched as Rowan began to force Lexa to her knees. This wasn’t about skill- the man was simply bigger than Lexa and had more weight to force her down. But Lexa was not out yet and Clarke gasped when the Heda reached up to grab the blade and push back against Rowan. Rowan stepped back, off balance and Lexa landed a hit.

 

But there wasn’t time to celebrate as Rowan swung back in full force. The moment was gone and before Clarke knew it, Lexa was on the ground and Rowan had kicked her sword away. But Lexa was quick to her feet, hitting Rowan several times and somehow gaining back not only her sword, but Rowan’s as well. The crowd cheered once more when Rowan punched a guard to take his spear and began spinning it around as he walked back to where Lexa stood waiting.

 

Lexa dodged and parried as Rowan swung his new weapon. But with both blades in hand, Lexa was a powerhouse and Clarke found herself wanting to cheer with the rest. However, in the next seconds, Rowan had Lexa on her back, spear poised to strike. To Clarke’s surprise, a hush fell over the crowd as Rowan pulled back the spear and aimed down. Clarke shut her eyes in anticipation, but forced them back open just as quickly when the crowd roared to life.

 

Their Heda was back on her feet and fighting again. Lexa dodged a few of Rowan’s lunges before grabbing the spear and knocking it free. The tables had turned again and now Rowan was forced down on his back. Clarke heard the Ice Queen scream something, but paid no attention. This was it. Rowan had gone down hard. But again, the fight surprised her. Instead of plunging the spear into Rowan’s chest, Lexa hurled the weapon at the stage where Queen Nia sat.

 

Screams and gasps flew through the crowd as blood trickled from the Queen’s mouth. No one dared to move as Lexa looked down at Rowan, still lying on the ground. “The queen is dead!” she shouted. “Long live the king!”

 

“Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!” chanted the rest of the grounders. Clarke stood there gaping in silence as Lexa helped Rowan to stand. It was over. Queen Nia was dead and Lexa was still alive.

 

As the grounders cheered and celebrated around her, chanting for their Heda, Clarke stood still. Lexa turned away from Rowan, searching for Clarke in the crowd. Their eyes locked and Lexa walked proudly toward her. Titus tried to get his Heda’s attention, but Lexa merely waved him off. Back straight and shoulders held high, Lexa stared intensely at the young woman before her.

 

“I’m glad you came.” Her voice had gravel in it, but Clarke assumed it was due to the dust and blood as much as her emotions.

 

Swallowing nervously, Clarke responded, “Me too.”

 

Lexa’s eyes brightened and a smile crept across her face. “I missed you, Clarke.”

 

This time Clarke sounded sure of herself when she answered. “Me too.”

 

And Clarke didn’t stop Lexa as the other woman placed her bloody hands in Clarke’s blonde hair and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Lexa tasted of blood, sweat, and dirt, but Clarke’s heart soared at the intimate contact. They were both breathing heavily when they broke apart. Clarke almost laughed at the way the must have looked- smeared in blood and grime but intertwined in a fierce embrace.

 

“You need to see a healer,” she whispered, but Lexa only laughed.

 

“The only thing I need is you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:   
> Taim Kik Raun Haihefa: Long Live the King  
> Hashta soulou gonplei, bilaik won hedon noumou: du souda wan op deyon!: In single combat, there is but one rule: Someone must die today!  
> Yo na jomp in: You may begin.


	14. The Last Stand of Charles Pike

Octavia crept through the underbrush without making a sound. Dark eyes were locked on her target and she waited patiently for the right moment. Her mind was calculating the distance to her target, the amount of force needed to knock her target to the ground, and exactly how to disarm him. Muscles taught, her target turned with his back to her position. With a grace and accuracy that would have made Indra proud, Octavia pounced. Within seconds, she had knocked away the rifle and pulled the knife off of his belt. Her target lay flat on his back, staring at the powerful woman sitting on top of him. 

“O?” Bellamy’s head was spinning from hitting the ground so hard. However, he still recognized his sister, even with the dark paint around her eyes. It had been almost two weeks since he had last seen her, before she fled Arkadia with Lincoln, Kane, Clarke, and Monty. “O, what’s going on?” 

Anger flashed in Octavia’s dark eyes. “You say that like you really have no idea.” 

“Let me up,” he said as he struggled beneath her. Octavia didn’t weigh that much but she had pinned him down in a way that he couldn’t get the leverage he needed to turn the tables. “Come on, Octavia.” 

“No,” she hissed. With her knees and feet still pinning him firmly against the ground, she reached for the ties that she had clipped on to her belt. With very little struggle from Bellamy, she managed to bind his hands together. Only then did she back off and pull him into a sitting position. “You’re going to listen.” 

“Octavia, where have you been?” asked Bellamy, quickly looking around into the trees. He hoped that she wasn’t alone. Another part of him hoped that none of the other soldiers that Pike commanded would wander into this part of the camp. He didn’t want Octavia to get hurt. 

“I’ve been trying to save the people you’ve been murdering,” she spat at him. Her body was heaving with every breath that she took. It pained Bellamy to see her this angry- especially when that anger was directed at him. 

Shaking his head desperately, he tried to explain, “I’m just trying to protect our people. That’s all Pike wants!” 

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Octavia paced in front of him with impatience. “Pike created a war to get revenge for the people he lost when they first crashed here.” 

“Do you blame him?” 

“Of course not. I would have wanted revenge too. But this isn’t the way. You should know that- Lincoln and I tried to tell you how different all the factions of grounders were. You can’t hold these people responsible for what Azgeda did!” 

“But they aren’t different. Lexa abandoned us at Mount Weather and look what happened!” 

Octavia glared at him, saying, “Clarke got over it, why can’t you? Clarke had to kill all those people, the same as you, and she managed not to murder whole villages of innocent people!” 

“Clarke left us. Pike is here and he is trying to save us!” cried Bellamy. He struggled to his feet and he noticed that Octavia’s stance stiffened. She was ready for a fight, but he wasn’t trying to give her one. “Octavia, come home. I’ve already talked to Pike- he’s willing to pardon you. Please, Octavia.” 

“Arkadia is not my home. And Pike is not my commander!” 

“And Lexa is?!” 

Octavia stalked up to stand in front of him, only inches apart. “Lexa isn’t the problem. She’s declared war on Pike now that he’s attacked Trikru. Your little army won’t be fighting children and old men now. They’ll be fighting warriors!” 

Bellamy shook his head. “We’re ready.” 

“And that’s the problem. Instead of going to Polis in a truce to talk about the problems between Skaikru and Azgeda, he just started shooting anyone that wasn’t like him! Queen Nia is dead, Bel. Lexa killed her. Pike could have had his revenge. The grounders know revenge better than anyone: jus drein jus daun! But Pike got more than his fair share. You’re no longer getting revenge…you’re just murdering the innocent!” 

Her brother stared at her for a moment. They didn’t know that the Ice Queen was dead. One of the disadvantages to attacking Trikru is that they had no inside knowledge of the grounder coalition or what was going on in Polis. “How do you know all this? Who has replaced Nia?” 

“Kane and Clarke got into Polis. They tried to talk to Lexa and save Arkadia. They’re the reason that Lexa send that messenger to Pike. Kane and Monty came to find Lincoln and I. Lexa killed Queen Nia and now her son is the King of the Ice Nation. But Lexa and her army are coming for Arkadia.”

“We are prepared for war,” repeated Bellamy, holding his head high. 

For a moment, he thought that Octavia might hit him, but she seemed to think better of it. The anger and bitterness seemed to leave her eyes for a moment. Even dressed in her grounder garb and the knife she carried on her back, Octavia looked like the little girl who used to hide under the floorboards. “You’re my brother. I don’t want to see you die.” 

“If I die, it will be for Arkadia.” 

Shaking her head, Octavia said, “No, it’ll be for Pike. You followed Clarke because she did the right thing. Clarke was destroyed when she had to kill Finn and all of those people in Mount Weather. But Pike is only growing mad with power when he kills grounders. How can you follow that? The man who was my brother and Clarke’s friend would never be ok with this.” 

Bellamy tried to ignore her words. Instead he asked, “Why are you here, Octavia? Why now?” 

“Because Lexa has promised to stop the war if we can bring Pike in.” 

“There’s no way you can get to him, O. We’re soldiers. We know how to protect our leader. And I know you have spies on the inside. But even Miller, Harper, and Jasper won’t be able to help.” 

“But you could.” Octavia stared at him with hard eyes. “Or at least, I had hoped that you would do what was best for Arkadia. You’ve seen the kind of army that Lexa possesses. Do you really think you can keep them from slaughtering everyone in Arkadia?” 

Without waiting for him to respond, Octavia pulled a small knife from her sleeve. Bellamy didn’t flinch when she reached forward to grab his wrists. In a single motion, she cut the bonds she had used to restrain him. Without another word she turned away and sprinted back into the dense trees. Bellamy was left standing alone in the clearing, his rifle on the ground a few yards away. 

Stunned by what had just taken place, Bellamy didn’t move at first. Octavia’s words of ire and accusations of murder left him doubting everything that had brought him to this place. But why did he doubt now? Octavia and Clarke had tried to convince him that Pike was wrong before. Even Kane had reached out to him after Pike had taken power, but Bellamy had ignored him. Silently, he asked himself what had changed. 

His sister’s words echoed in his mind as he walked over to fetch his fallen rifle. Guilt pooled in his gut as he thought about all those that had died because of Pike and the Skaikru army. Pike had tried to talk to the grounders, asking them to abandon their homes upon penalty of death. The grounders had refused. Bellamy had been adamant about trying to warn the grounders. Arkadia needed the land for survival. But they didn’t have to murder to get it. 

Walking slowly back into camp, Bellamy thought about how many times he had made excuses for Pike. The times he had told the other members of the guard that what they were doing was right. That their campaign was no longer about revenge, it was about survival. Lexa and her coalition would move against them at some point- Pike was just being proactive. They needed to act fast- winter was coming and they needed to plant fields in order to have enough food to survive. And there was no way to share with the grounders…there were just too many of them. People were going to die and Pike wasn’t going to let it be Arkadians. 

Bellamy pushed the flap of Pike’s tent open. The Chancellor barely looked up from his map. Hannah Green gave him a small smile and turned back to continue listening to Commander Drake giving a briefing. They had been planning this for days. Pike wanted to strike the gathering Trikru troops near the rubble of what used to be Tondc. 

It appeared that Indra and her Trikru warriors had returned to their lands ahead of Lexa’s army. Pike thought that defeating Indra and the rest of Trikru would discourage the other grounders. Bellamy had to agree- with the leader of Trikru gone, why would the other factions want to risk their own people for Trikru land? 

“Anything to report, Blake?” asked Drake when he was done speaking to Pike. 

Bellamy had every intention of warning them that Kane and Octavia had plans to try to kidnap Pike in order to take him to Polis. But for some reason, all he said was, “All is quiet.” 

Both Pike and Drake took him at his word. They had no reason to distrust him, because Bellamy had never lied to them before. Pike took a deep breath and turned to address Bellamy. “Are you ready for this?” 

“Of course,” answered Bellamy, this time with a bit more truth. 

“I would understand if you wanted to keep guard over camp,” said Pike sincerely. With pity in his eyes, he continued, “There is a chance that your sister will be among those at Indra’s camp. If she fights against us, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do to protect her.” 

“I understand.” 

Pike nodded solemnly and patted him on the back. This time when he spoke, he addressed Hannah and Commander Drake. “I know that we are ready. We move at dusk. The night vision goggles that we scavenged from Mount Weather will give us the upper hand.” 

“I’ll go prepare everyone,” said Drake and he and Hannah exited the tenet, leaving Bellamy alone with Pike. Octavia’s words were echoing in his mind. 

He tried to push it away as Pike said, “This is it. We’re finally going to be able to show the grounders that we aren’t just some weak Sky People that they can walk all over.” 

“Yes, sir,” replied Bellamy, but he couldn’t look him in the eyes. Pike was too preoccupied to notice that Bellamy may be having doubts. Bellamy followed Pike out of the tent, but instead of following his chancellor to join Drake, Hannah, and the others, Bellamy quietly walked back to where he remembered seeing Jasper before. Sure enough, the young man was sitting next to a camp fire. Pike didn’t trust Jasper with any plans and usually left him with the few guards to watch over their camp. 

“What do you want?” asked Jasper rather bluntly.

Bellamy shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “Have you heard from Monty lately?”

“What’s it to you?” 

“If you have tell him and Kane that we’re attacking Indra’s camp in an hour. Do what you have to.” 

He walked away without looking back. It was up to Kane and the others now. If grounders died tonight it wouldn’t be because of him. When he got to the staging area that the other members of the guard were suiting up, Bellamy tried to act as normally as possible. He wasn’t sure what would happen tonight- if Jasper could tell Monty and Kane in time to warn Indra. But the Sky People still had the advantage- it would be dark soon and it was hard to throw spears in the dead of night. But the grounders would make easy targets for the gear Pike had acquired from Mount Weather. 

Bellamy strapped on his bullet proof vest and attached a utility belt with additional ammunition. The air was buzzing with the excitement and apprehension of the upcoming fight. Although they expected to win, there was still the chance that not everyone would make it back alive. But they believed in Pike and dying for Arkadia. Until the conversation with Octavia in the forest, Bellamy believed that too. And he still believed in dying for Arkadia- but perhaps not killing for it. 

For the past two weeks, Bellamy had stood solidly behind Pike. And his opinion hadn’t changed- the grounders were a threat to Arkadia. But he wasn’t willing to lose Octavia. It had always been the two of them. He had gotten on to the dropship for Octavia and did everything in his power to protect her in on Earth. Too many times, he had failed. But sometimes, Octavia saved him. Tonight, he didn’t want to face her in that camp; didn’t want to have to face the possibility of someone hurting her.

The hour until dusk passed quickly. Drake directed his men to move out and Bellamy fell into step with Pike and Hannah. They didn’t speak on their way to what was left of Tondc. When they reached the outskirts of the Trikru camp, Pike waited for Drake to clear the way. Bellamy could see the glow of torches and the vast number of tents that housed sleeping grounders. The one thing he didn’t see that he expected to were guards patrolling the outside of the camp. 

“I don’t see any movement,” commented Hannah, clearly seeing what Bellamy was. “Surely they wouldn’t be stupid enough not to have patrols.” 

“They may be in the trees…” murmured Pike, his eyes moving to look at everything around them. “Or Drake and his men have already disposed of them.” 

A crackle came over the low range radio on Pike’s belt. “All clear. Go on your signal.” 

Pike picked up the radio and with a nod at his companions, replied, “Move in.” 

With their guns raised, Pike, Hannah, and Bellamy moved in with the other guards into the camp. Their night vision goggles gave their surroundings a green glow, but Bellamy could see clearly. Tent by tent, they raided the camp, but not a single shot was fired. Slowly, everyone met up in the middle, where Pike and Drake stood face to face, obviously confused. 

“The entire camp is abandoned,” muttered Pike, shaking his head with confusion. “I don’t understand…” 

“We were betrayed,” said Drake in frustration. “We need to get out of here in case they ambush us. Even with our weapons, it will be chaos.” 

But Drake has spoken too late. Appearing out of thin air, all around the group of twenty guards that Pike had brought on this mission, were the warriors of the Trikru clan. The men and women of Arkadia raised their guns in a defensive position, but they weren’t sure where to start shooting. Many of them were crowded together in groups and stumbled over each other. 

Before Pike or Drake could give a command, a voice called out from the darkness: “It’s over Pike. Tell your men to stand down. You are outnumbered three to one.” 

Both Bellamy and Pike recognized the voice at once. Whirling around, Bellamy tried to locate Marcus Kane in the sea of faces that surrounded them. He didn’t have to search long. Kane and Indra moved through the group with Lincoln and Octavia directly behind them. He also noticed that Miller, Bryan, Harper, and Jasper stood in the front of the grounders, guns raised. More torches were lit and Pike threw his goggles to the ground in anger.

Marching forward, Pike responded, “Numbers mean nothing. I have bullets for every grounder here. Drake, give the order.” 

“No!” shouted Bellamy and he raised his gun to point at Pike’s back. “Nobody moves!” 

Pike turned around, wide eyed at Bellamy’s betrayal. “Son, you don’t want to do this.” 

“You’re right. I don’t,” agreed Bellamy, but the young man had made up his mind. His eyes flickered towards Kane, who was wearing a smile of pride. “But I also don’t believe in slaughtering people in their sleep. There is no honor in that. And now, we would all die. We may take down most of them, but we would die too. Who would protect Arkadia then?” 

“What’s your solution, Blake?” asked Pike, trying to keep calm. He dropped is rifle and raised his arms into the air. “Are you going to shoot me? You can probably pull the trigger quicker than Drake or any of the others here could shoot you, but then we’d both be dead and this would still turn into a blood bath.” 

“I’m not going to shoot you. You don’t deserve to die,” he replied and he truly meant the words. He didn’t want to see Pike dead, but right now, he needed to think about Arkadia and the future.

Kane calmly walked up beside Bellamy and addressed Pike. “Chancellor Pike, I am removing you from command and taking you to Polis to stand trial for the crime of murder.” 

“You cannot be serious, Marcus,” exclaimed Pike. “So you answer to the Heda now? You’ve become a grounder?” 

“No. But I believe in justice and what you are doing here isn’t that. This is murder, Pike. You’re leading Arkadia into a war it cannot win. I’m trying to save our people. So tell your men to put down their weapons. Otherwise Bellamy is right- this would turn into a bloodbath.”

Pike exchanged a look with Commander Drake, who had his own weapon trained on Bellamy. The Chancellor seemed to be weighing his options as he took in the sheer number of grounders standing around his men in the darkness. With a bitter sigh, Pike shook his head at Drake. “Stand down.” 

“But sir-”

“I said, stand down. We’ve lost this one.” Pike looked once more at Bellamy with sad eyes. “You betrayed us.” 

Bellamy glanced at Octavia, still standing behind Indra. Swallowing his regret, he replied, “No, sir. I just did what I thought was right.” 

There was a clatter of plastic and metal hitting the ground as Pike’s troops unloaded their weapons. Grounders kicked away the guns and began lining the Arkadian’s up on their knees, hands above their heads. Indra addressed her new prisoners, “You will remain here under my command. I have orders from the Heda to keep you alive until Pike has been served his justice. The Heda believes that you will all return to your home alive. But only if you do as we say.” 

Lincoln tied Pike’s hands behind his back and walked him into a secluded tent until morning, when they would go to Polis. Octavia didn’t say a word to her brother, but she was no longer glaring at him. And for Bellamy, he counted that as a win. They would reconcile eventually- they always did. 

Kane patted Bellamy on the back. “Good job.” 

“You won’t kill them, right?” 

“That’s not my intention,” replied Kane. “I will plead for their lives in Polis. And if Pike does the right thing, he will tell Lexa that they were only following his orders. They won’t be punished.”

“I didn’t do this for you,” stated Bellamy suddenly. A dark look flickered over Kane’s eyes, but Bellamy didn’t care. “Pike was right about a lot of things. I did this for Octavia.” 

Sighing, Kane grimly acknowledged Bellamy’s words. “We need to make things right with the grounders. Then we can make things right in Arkadia. By the way, who did Pike leave in charge?” 

“Jaha.” 

“What?” asked Kane, clearly worried about the capacity of his old friend. “You can’t be serious. What about Abby?” 

“Abby obviously helped you and Clarke escape. She’s still in Arkadia as far as I know.” 

Kane cocked his head in confusion. “As far as you know?” 

“We haven’t heard anything from Arkadia in a couple of days. Pike thinks that the radios went out again. Sinclair was messing with them before he was captured for treason.” 

“Treason? Pike executed him?” 

Bellamy shook his head. “No, he’s just in lock up. Pike said he’d deal with him when we got back. Right now, he doesn’t have anything on Abby, but if she tried to help Sinclair, there’s a chance she’s in lock up as well.” 

“But no one has heard from them?” Again Bellamy shook his head at Kane’s question. Kane cursed and kicked at the dirt. Even in the dark, Bellamy could see the lines of worry that were on Kane’s face. “I’m sure they’re fine. We would know if the grounders had attacked Arkadia.” 

Bellamy’s words didn’t seem to comfort Kane. He gritted his teeth and looked at the tent where Lincoln was holding Pike. Kane knew he should accompany Pike back to Polis to make sure that Lexa kept her word. But Clarke was there and he trusted Indra, Lincoln, and Octavia to get Pike there without incident. In his gut, he knew something was wrong back in Arkadia. Jaha had been on the verge of a breakdown when Kane had left and he knew Abby well enough to know that she may do something rash to help her friends work against Pike. 

Leaving Bellamy to deal with his actions, Kane walked over to where his group of rebels had gathered around a fire to announce, “I’m going back to Arkadia.” 

“What?!”

“Sir, we need to go back to Polis,” said Monty and the other clearly agreed with him. 

“Apparently, no one has heard from Jaha or Abby in days. Something’s wrong, I can feel it.” 

“Then we’ll go with you,” offered Miller. 

Kane shook his head. “No, what’s important is that we make peace with the grounds. Make sure Pike makes it back to Polis. I’ll take a radio and go back to Arkadia. I just need to know that everything is alright.” 

“You mean, you need to know if Dr. Griffin is alright,” teased Jasper. Kane merely shrugged off his comment, not willing to deny what was obviously true. 

Monty suddenly looked strangely nervous. Quietly he said, “I’m going with Kane.” 

“Monty, I just told you-”

“I let my mother go.” 

“What?” Everyone looked at the teenager as if he had lost his mind. Kane looked quickly at the group of Arkadians that were now sitting in a circle guarded by Indra’s men. Sure enough, Hannah Green was not among them. “Why did you do that?” 

“Look, I know she screwed up, but there’s still a chance that Lexa will execute all of them and I didn’t want to lose her. I sent her back to Arkadia. If there is something wrong there, I need to go too. I just want her to stay safe,” he answered desperately. 

Kane took a moment to regard the troubled boy before nodding his head in agreement. “Fine. You and I will go back to Arkadia. If it is just the communications system that is down, you can fix it. And we can deal with your mother when we get there.” 

“Yes, sir.”


	15. The Sacred Symbol

Lexa rolled over under the covers of the thick pelts of her bed. Her eyes flittered open as they adjusted to the sunlight that streamed through the windows. She stretched out her bare arms and startled when her hand touched skin. For a brief moment, she had forgotten that she was not alone in her bed. Lexa turned on her side, using her elbow to prop her head up on her hand. Blonde hair was sprawled out on the pillow beside her own.

 

The woman lying next to her was still fast asleep. Lexa cherished this moment with her whole heart; she did not get to see Clarke with no lines of worry on her face very often. Clarke looked at peace in her sleep- no nightmares or clouded dreams. Lexa leaned in to press a gentle kiss on her neck, but Clarke didn’t even notice in her deep sleep.

 

But the moment didn’t last- a knock on the Heda’s door brought Lexa from her peace. She stepped out of bed and threw a robe over her naked body. The knock came again and Lexa cursed under her breath; she didn’t want to wake Clarke.

 

Cracking the door open, Lexa looked at the messenger on the other side, “Chit?”

 

“Moba, Heda. Indra em komba roun,” murmured the messenger, his head bent in apology.

 

Lexa pulled the robe tighter around her. Kane and Monty had left only four days ago; she hadn’t expected anyone back so soon. Indra was supposed to be with her warriors, fighting against Pike. She hoped this was good news. “Hashta Pike?”

 

“Em laik honon,” replied the messenger and Lexa closed the door with a smile on her face.

 

When she turned back to the bed, she saw her beautiful lover wiping the sleep from her eyes. Clarke yawned and mumbled, “Who was it?”

 

“Indra has returned,” answered Lexa with a small smile as Clarke’s eyes lit up at her words. “And Pike is now our prisoner.”

 

Clarke threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed to embrace Lexa. Lexa kissed her cheek and laughed, “Would you like to dress before we see them?”

 

Looking down at her naked body, Clarke joined in her laughter. They both walked over to where Lexa’s clothes were hung. Clarke had begun leaving her own clothes in the room about two days ago, so that she wouldn’t have to leave Lexa.

 

In less than an hour, the Heda sat upon her throne with her advisor, Titus, to her right and her lover, Clarke, to her left. Indra entered the throne room with pride. Behind her came Clarke’s friends: Octavia, Lincoln, Miller, Harper, and Jasper. To Clarke’s surprise, there was another person with them: Bellamy. His eyes were downcast and he stood back away from the others.  

 

“Indra, what say you?” asked Lexa, with her head held high.

 

“Kane and those loyal to you from Skaikru have removed Chancellor Pike from power.” She turned around and signaled to the guards. The doors to the throne room opened and four men drug a chained and dirty Pike into the room. The grounders in the room hissed at him in anger. “I present to you the murderer, Charles Pike, my Heda.”

 

The guards tied Pike to a stand in the middle of the room. His eyes were stern and his lips pulled tight. He barely looked at Clarke, but instead kept his attention focused on Lexa. But it wasn’t Lexa who spoke. Titus stepped forward with a grave voice, “Charles Pike, you are being charged murder and trespassing. Your actions against Trikru are answerable by death. Do you have anything to say?”

 

Pike raised his chin and looked at his accusers straight on. “I did what was necessary. Your people attacked us first. Your people killed over a hundred of our people and I just answered in kind. If what I did was murder, then what was that?”

 

“Queen Nia and Azgeda paid for their crimes,” answered Titus firmly.

 

“Not by us,” replied Pike bitterly. “I know that this coalition would have moved against our people. Your leader already deserted us once on that mountain. It was cowardly then-”

 

The grounders around him cried out in rage and Pike’s voice was drowned out. Titus tried to call for order, but the members of the coalition wanted Pike’s blood and they didn’t want to listen to his excuses. The people in the room only fell silent when Lexa stood up. She walked toward him with a hand on her sword.

 

“I hear you, Pike. And so does the rest of my coalition,” spoke Lexa calmly. The angry murmuring started again, but Lexa raised a hand to stop it. “But you have gone against our ways and we do not take that lightly. I send a messenger as a token of peace, but you murdered him. I would have given you your revenge, but you chose to attack peoples who did nothing to wrong you.”

 

“My people died. So did yours. How is what I did murder?” asked Pike, glaring at the Heda, who on the other hand didn’t look flustered at all.

 

“That is for me to decide,” spoke Lexa. This time she addressed her people around her. “This man is here because he committed crimes against the Trikru peoples. As your Heda, I will not stand for this. The Sky People were wronged, by both Queen Nia and myself. But I have made my peace with the leaders of Skaikru. And Queen Nia has died for her actions. If Chancellor Pike had heeded my messenger, he could have sought his revenge with the Azgeda peoples. Therefore, I find Pike guilty of murder of the Trikru peoples.”

 

The crowd roared in approval and in Pike’s eyes there was a flash of fear. Behind him, Bellamy made a step forward in concern, but was stopped by Miller and Harper. Clarke remained still from her position next to the throne. Her heart was divided; she had never liked Pike’s methods, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to see any Arkadians put to death today. Especially by Lexa.

 

Titus took over for Lexa when she returned to her throne, now that she had given her ruling. He spoke to the audience, not to Pike. “And now we address the members of Skaikru that also committed these acts of murder.”

 

“Wait,” shouted Pike, his voice raspy with emotion. Titus paused and turned to look at the prisoner with distain, but he allowed Pike to speak. “Wait. My people…they were just following orders. They are soldiers who do what they are told. I should be the only one judged today…do not kill my people.”

 

Titus glanced toward Lexa who gave a brief nod. It clearly wasn’t the answer that he wanted, but he upheld his Heda’s ruling, saying, “The Heda grants mercy to the people of Skaikru. The Heda will seek council to judge the punishment for Charles Pike. He is to be held alone while he awaits the Heda’s decision.”

 

Pike did not protest as the guards pulled him from the room. The ambassadors of the coalition all began shouting at once. Clarke didn’t have to speak the language to know what they wanted. They wanted death- death to every person who fell from the Sky. But Lexa did not heed them. She stood and motioned for Clarke to follow. Together, they exited the throne room, with the Octavia, Lincoln, Miller, Bryan, Harper, and Bellamy close behind.

 

They didn’t make it very far before they ran into more grounders arguing in the hallway. The men stopped suddenly at the sight of their Heda. Lexa glared at them and asked, “Chit yo gaf?”

 

There was some mumbling and shoving and Lexa was clearly irritated. “Ai seiso!”

 

One of the grounders stumbled forward and replied, “We found this on…”

 

He opened his hand hesitantly to reveal a light blue object. Lexa stepped in to get a better look and couldn’t help but gasp. She grabbed the object and asked sternly, “Where did you get this?”

 

“Off a Skaikru thief. We saw the sacred symbol and came straight to you, Heda.”

 

“Where is this thief?” Lexa cast a sidelong glance at Clarke, but the other girl had no idea what the item was. But the symbol on it, a sideways eight, looked familiar. Clarke racked her mind before realizing where she had seen it before: on the back of Lexa’s neck.

 

* * *

 

 

Kane and Monty stood at the ledge of a small hill overlooking Arkadia. They could see the camp clearly in the morning light, but there were no people in sight. There were no signs of a fight, for that Kane was relieved, but there were also no other signs of life.

 

“Did they abandon Arkadia?” asked Monty.

 

“The only place to go is Mount Weather and it would be too dangerous to make the trek without the rest of Pike’s army,” answered Kane, but that thought had crossed his mind also. “Hopefully, they’ve just barricaded themselves in the Ark. Maybe when they lost communication, they moved inside.”

 

“They’ll be able to see us coming,” warned Monty.

 

“Pike is no longer in power. If they do try to detain us, we just have to place a call to Indra using our radios.”

 

No one greeted them when they walked through the gate. Kane had an uneasy feeling that something was terribly wrong. There were no signs of anyone dying or any other fighting. But everything was put away as if no one needed it anymore.

 

“This place is deserted,” said Monty, as he nervously gripped his gun. His mother had a couple hours head start as Kane had made sure that Pike was on his way and the other Arkadians were well looked after. If Hannah had arrived at Arkadia, there were no signs.

 

Kane led Monty to one of the side doors that was closest to Medical. If everyone was safely inside the Ark, Abby would be in Medical. After finding a crowbar, the two were able to pry the door open. To their surprise, the faint sound of music could be heard.

 

“That’s coming from Medical…” whispered Kane. There wasn’t another soul in sight. Kane was still cautious as they headed toward the source of the music. With a pointed look at Monty to remain on guard as he pushed through the tarp that led into Medical. Music was blasting from a nearby computer and all of the gurneys had been pushed to the walls of the room. In the middle was Abby, Sinclair, Raven, and Wick. On the table that they surrounded was a computer with several devices that Kane did not recognize.

 

“Abby!” called out Kane over the music and the pots that Wick was currently banging on. Everyone stopped at once and stared at the new comers.

 

Raven, whose eyes were red rimmed and wild, spoke first, “You shouldn’t be here…”

 

“Shit, shit, shit…” muttered Sinclair staring at something in the corner of the room. “You don’t have much time…”

 

Abby approached him with a scared look on her face. Her hands were trembling when she touched his shoulder. In an uncertain voice, she whispered, “Please get out of here, Marcus…you need to leave.”

 

“Abby, what is going on?” Abby’s eyes kept flickering from Kane to the corner of the room and it was making him nervous. Monty could sense it too. Raven had already turned back to what she was working on. There seemed to be some sort of head gear with electrodes on it.

 

“You need to leave, Marcus. She knows you’re here and I can’t protect you.”

 

Kane cupped her face in his hands, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. But she was avoiding his eyes and a silent battle seemed to be going on behind her pale face. “I can protect myself, Abby. Tell me what’s going on.”

 

From the corner of the room, unseen by Kane and Monty, stood ALIE with a perplexed look on her holographic face. The group of people had spent the last three hours trying to drown her out of their consciousness, albeit unsuccessfully. She had already had to use manipulation to make Abby and Sinclair to take the chip. But they were fighting her. Jaha was trying to convince ALIE to override their free will and make them fall in line.

 

But she wasn’t prepared to do that. Not yet, anyway. She was curious about how they thought they could rid her from their minds. ALIE was impressed by their solution: an electromagnetic pulse to disrupt the chip’s connection to their brain stems. So far, though, they had been unable to get all the supplies they required, because ALIE had access to their every thought.

 

But the arrival of Kane had thrown a wrench in her plans of merely waiting the rebels out. She could feel the hope pulsing through Abby as she tried to warn Kane of what was happening. ALIE sent a thought to another member of her collective and smiled, knowing he was on his way.

 

Abby pushed her palms into Kane’s chest, forcing him to walk backward towards the door. “You have to leave. Jaha has taken over. There’s this chip…you have to go, Marcus. She’ll take you over. Our best hope is that you can get away.”

 

“How rude, Abby. Why wouldn’t you offer our friends their future?” Kane whirled around to face Jake standing in the doorway of Medical. Jake smiled sweetly as he walked over to turn off the loud music. “You really thought that would work? ALIE is stronger that you give her credit for.”

 

“Jake, what is going on?” asked Kane, clearly not grasping the fact that his old friend was not there to help them.

 

Monty, on the other hand, had taken in the situation and said quietly, “Sir, maybe we should leave while we still can…”

 

“The kid is smart. But the City of Light could use both of you. We need you, Marcus.”

 

Abby moved between her husband and new love. “Go Marcus. Take Monty and run.”

 

At the same time, Jake said, “Take the key, my friend. You’ll finally find the peace you’ve been looking for your whole life.”

 

“Jake, come on. You can’t possibly have bought into that City of Light crap that Jaha was going on about.”

 

ALIE knew that Kane wasn’t going to give in easily, not with Abby telling him not to. They didn’t have time for this. She had discovered, through Raven, that the second version was not within the Ark’s matrixes. She needed more minds, which meant she needed to take Polis. None of the people currently within the city had ever been to the grounder capital. But Kane had and she needed his knowledge.

 

Walking up behind Jake, ALIE told him, “I need him.”

 

Ignoring the rest of the room, Jake looked at her and replied, “He isn’t going to take it willingly.”

 

“Take what willingly?” asked Kane, his anger rising. Something was wrong with Abby and the others. This wasn’t the Jake Griffin he knew. This Jake wasn’t burdened by the past. He exchanged a look with Monty and nodded his head in the direction of the back door. They would have to run through some corridors to get out, but he thought they would be able to manage it. Grabbing Abby’s hand, he said, “Let’s get out of here.”

 

“I can’t,” she whispered, tears appearing in her eyes. “She’s in my mind. She’ll know everything.”

 

“She needs more minds,” added Raven. “She needs the grounders.”

 

“Abby, I can’t leave you,” he murmured, but Abby just shook her head.

 

“Go, before I can’t help you...They used Jake against me. I don’t want you to have to go through that.” Abby pushed him away, tears now streaking down her face.

 

Sinclair was saying something to Monty now as the young man began to walk quickly to the back of the room. Jake sighed and approached Abby and Kane. “You could be a part of something so much greater, my friend.”

 

ALIE could sense the situation deteriorating. Closing her eyes, she focused all of her energy into the four chipped members of the room who were resisting her influence. She couldn’t outright override their free will- but there were loopholes and backdoors in every piece of programming. They struggled as she pushed their minds to the limits. Humans had such limited perception of reality.

 

Raven cried out in pain as Wick fell to the ground. Sinclair was using the table as a crutch to keep himself upright as he begged for ALIE to stop. Before Kane’s eyes, Abby dropped to her knees. He knelt beside her, but Abby cried, “Go, Marcus. Please, I can’t fight her. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I love you, Marcus. Take care of Clarke!”

 

Kane could feel the breath stop in his lungs, his entire body screaming at him to take her in his arms and hold her. But he knew the only way to save Abby was to get help. Monty was calling for him to run. Kane took a moment to kiss Abby’s forehead and wipe the tears from her face. Staring into her troubled and scared eyes, he whispered, “I’ll come back for you. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

 

As soon as he said the words, her face fell slack and her expression turned calm in an instance. They both stood up. Kane backed away slowly as the woman he loved cocked her head to the side and said, “I think it’s time that we talk, Marcus Kane.”

 

Fear gripped Kane’s heart as he stared back at whoever was talking to him through Abby’s body and voice. Making the only choice he had left, he looked at Monty and shouted one word, “Run!”  

 

 

Translations:

Chit?: What?

Moba, Heda. Indra em komba roun: Apologies, Commander. Indra has returned.

Hasta Pike?: What about Pike?

Chit yo gaf?: What do you all want?

Ai seiso: Answer me


	16. Bigger Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the deal. I am currently finishing my Master’s degree by the end of October. Things have been crazy and I have been extremely overworked. So I haven’t been writing…but I will finish this story…but the next few chapters may be far away.

Clarke stood with her arms crossed over her chest and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In front of her, John Murphy was tied to a chair surrounded by Lexa, Titus, Indra, and Clarke herself. The teenager’s hair was matted with dirt, blood, and sweat, but he wore a confident smirk. Titus was holding the silicon chip in his hand as if it were the Holy Grail itself. Clarke had never seen anything like it before on the Ark and although Titus and Lexa seemed to recognize it, they were just as baffled as she was.

 

“It’s just some AI,” muttered Murphy as he pulled against his bindings. Indra glared at him from her silent position by the door, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Instead, he was ignoring the grounders altogether, keeping his focus on Clarke. “Jaha has been passing them out like candy.”

 

Clarke turned her back on Murphy and asked Lexa, “I don’t understand- what is this symbol?”

 

Titus barely glanced up from his examination of the little chip. He had a small black book in his hands and was flipping rapidly through the pages. “This symbol is of the first commander. I have only seen something like this once before: the flame.”

 

Lexa saw Clarke’s confusion and frustration at Titus’ lack of an answer. Turning her back slightly, she moved her long dark hair to the side to show the symbol on the back of her neck. Clarke had seen it before, and gently brushed her fingertips over the mark. She pulled back when she felt the scar that the ink had been hiding. When Lexa turned back around she said, “The flame holds the spirit of all of the Commanders before me. All the way back to the first. During my ascension, Titus inserted the flame into me.”

 

Behind them Murphy started laughing. “Are you serious? This whole time, you’ve just had a computer in your head!”

 

Clarke had to resist the urge to slap him when she saw the look of hurt and betrayal on Lexa’s face. It was only there for a moment and then the Heda’s mask fell back into place. Clarke brushed up against Lexa’s shoulder as an attempt to comfort her, but Lexa was distracted by the chip. Deciding to focus on getting to the bottom of this, she finally looked at Murphy. “Start from the beginning- how did Jaha get this?”

 

“It was at that house…Jaha took a bunch of us to look for the City of Light. Everyone died…I almost died. I was stuck in this lighthouse and then Jaha showed up talking about some chick and the stupid City of Light.”

 

“A woman? Wasn’t there a woman with the group that had been floated? Astrid Rolston?”

 

“Nah, wasn’t her. The AI was like in his head or something. That’s what the chip is. Jaha calls it a key…like the key to the City of Light.”

 

“So that thing is an artificial intelligence? A woman who Jaha is working for?” Murphy just shrugged at Clarke’s questions. Clarke rolled her eyes and turned back to Lexa and Titus. “So I guess the real question is, is Murphy’s chip the same as the flame that’s in your head?”

 

“It is not!” protested Titus. Straightening his back proudly, Titus declared, “This is nothing but a fake. The Flame is a precious part of our culture and has been delicately passed down from fleimkepa to fleimkepa. This is a fake created by the Sky People to create disorder within the coalition.”

 

Murphy let out a mocking laugh. “Who is this guy? Trust me, Jaha is worshiping the AI.”

 

Titus hissed under his breath and Lexa was glaring daggers at her prisoner. Clarke caught Lexa’s hand to stop her from doing whatever she had thought up in her head to do to Murphy. Clarke asked calmly, “So the Flame is the only one of its kind? You have never seen anything like this ‘key’ before?”

 

“Never,” murmured Titus as he turned the chip over and over in his hand. “In all my reading, I never found any mention of a second key.”

 

Murphy cocked his head to the side in confusion and asked, “Reading? You mean there are books on this AI? You realize that the AI caused the destruction of Earth?”

 

“What?”

 

Murphy tried to explain, “When I was locked away in that lighthouse, some guy left a video about how this AI had gone rogue and nuked the entire planet.”

 

“Bekka Pramheda came from the skies and brought our people together. She is the reason the human race has survived and she was human,” spoke Lexa defensively. Clarke darted her eyes between Lexa and Murphy. Both believed what they were saying. Clarke couldn’t believe that after everything they had been through, there was another piece to the puzzle of Earth. And this piece didn’t seem to fit with any of the others.

 

Clarke searched mind for some sort of clue to what could be going on. This original Heda, Becca, had come from the skies with the flame. But that didn’t explain how Jaha was suddenly in possession of more of these chips or keys. With a shrug, she murmured, “Maybe Jaha found part of the Ark that crashed. Maybe these keys came from the Ark itself. If this Becca person somehow survived the nukes originally, maybe it was because she had one of the keys…”

 

“No,” stated Titus flatly. “Pramheda came to our people after the destruction of Earth. We have the vessel she came to us in.”

 

“Wait, that means this person came from the Ark,” reasoned Murphy, looking at Clarke curiously. “The only people who survived, or were presumed survived, were in the space stations.”

 

Eyes widening, Clarke began to make the connection. “The thirteenth station!”

 

Murphy sat up straighter, with an eagerness he hadn’t shown since he had been sent to Earth. “Of course, no one really knows what happened to the thirteenth station…”

 

Turning sharply to Lexa, Clarke practically shouted, “Can we see the vessel?”

 

* * *

 

 

The walk down to the underground temple of the fleimkepa was done in silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts about what was transpiring. Titus had complained to Lexa in their native language that these unbelievers should not be privy to the Pramheda’s vessel or the sacred room of his, but she had waved him off. Lexa didn’t protest, however, when Indra threatened to remove Murphy’s tongue if he continued to talk. And when Clarke didn’t take up for him either, Murphy resigned himself to join their silence.

 

If they hadn’t been silent when they entered the temple, a hush would have surely fallen over them. The numerous candles illuminated the great room and the chalked drawings on the wall. It was awe inspiring and Clarke knew why Titus had been hesitant to bring the Sky People here. This was a treasured place. And a beautiful one. Clarke walked along the wall that documented Pramheda’s fall to earth and the Hedas that followed. Lexa trailed behind her, shadowing her every move, as if eager to answer any questions Clarke may have.

 

Murphy, on the other hand, took one look around the room and started immediately to the metal pod that had been draped in linen finery. Titus scolded, but seeing that Lexa’s attention was solely focused on Clarke, moved after Murphy. Indra kept watch at the door.

 

“She’s beautiful,” murmured Clarke for Lexa’s benefit. This was Lexa’s history; her entire being. After seeing how Murphy’s comments had hurt her earlier, Clarke wanted Lexa to know that she cherished her heritage.

 

“Bekka brought us life,” whispered Lexa into her ear and Clarke shivered.

 

With hooded eyes, she turned back to Lexa and moved in closer. But the moment was ruined when Murphy shouted, “Clarke! You’ll never believe this!”

 

Lexa turned away from Clarke quickly and Clarke could feel the magic of last night wearing off. Why couldn’t she catch a break for once? Every time Clarke felt her heart settling, some bigger problem always came up. Clarke followed Lexa to where Titus was hovering around Murphy and what appeared to be an escape pod, presumably from the thirteenth station.

 

Murphy was rubbing the seared metal with his dirty jacket over dark lettering, barely visible against the dark steel of the ship. He pulled back, his eyes gleaming, to allow Clarke to get a closer look. She could just make out the letters: P O L I S. Between the ‘L’ and ‘S’ was a smudged space that Murphy had been trying to clear up.

 

“Polis,” read Lexa, clearly not impressed with Murpy’s find, but Clarke realized what he was excited about.

 

“There are letters missing,” she said. “It should read: POLARIS.”

 

“The thirteenth station,” finished Murphy. His eyes were bright with whirling thoughts. “Do you know what this means? It all fits together: the legend of the commander, the thirteenth station, the destruction of Earth. I bet you that whatever or whoever Jaha is following is somehow connected to this ship and the chip that the grounders have been moving from person to person.”

 

“But how?” asked Clarke, still not convinced. They didn’t even know what was going on with Jaha and his AI. Or even what the Flame really was. She remembered Lexa telling her about the nightbloods and added, “But the Flame can’t be given to just anyone, right?”

 

Titus stepped forward, saying, “Only a natblida can accept the Flame. Otherwise, the Flame will consume them.”

 

At his words, Murphy frowned. “Jaha and the others took the chips without any problems. I mean, besides being crazy in the first place, there was nothing special about them.”

 

“But you said that that AI had to do with the original destruction of the Earth. So, in theory, that chip outdates the one that Lexa has right now,” reasoned Clarke and Murphy shrugged in confusion.

 

“We need to compare them.”

 

“No!” shouted Titus, his voice echoing through the chamber. “Only upon the Heda’s death shall the Flame be removed.”

 

“And that won’t happen for a long time,” murmured Clarke, her eyes darting to the dark haired Heda, but Lexa wasn’t giving away a single thought.

 

Instead, Lexa said, “We should focus our effort first to discover more about this new chip. Your people have that capability, correct?”

 

Clarke nodded, thinking immediately of Raven. “We can try talking with Jaha.”

 

“Good luck,” spat Murphy bitterly.

 

* * *

 

 

With a deep sigh, Clarke pushed open the door to her rooms to grab a change of clothes for dinner. Thoughts of artificial intelligences, chips, keys, and flames fluttered around in her brain. She was so distracted that she didn’t notice another person into the room until a male voice filled the room.

 

“You left without saying goodbye.”

 

Clarke whirled around and pulled a knife from her sleeve. The knife lowered when she saw who was sitting in a chair next to the door of her room. Bellamy was slumped down, his face dirty and hair disheveled. Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal and she slipped the knife back into her wrist band. It had been over two weeks since they had seen each other.

 

“I was in a hurry and I thought you would try and stop me,” she answered honestly with a shrug. When he didn’t respond, Clarke lowered herself into the overstuffed chair across the room and waited. Clarke wasn’t sure what she was waiting for- an apology? Or should she be the one who is apologizing? Stubbornly, Clarke crossed her arms and stared at him.

 

Bellamy had a similar battle going on in his own head. What did he say to her? What was left to say? Part of him wanted to yell at her for leaving again, but after all that had happened in the last few days, Bellamy wasn’t sure what he was angry for. But he was still angry. He stared back at her, taking in her new grounder clothes and the braids in her dirty blonde hair. Her eyes were even different. She looked…well, she looked almost happy.

 

“Well?” asked Clarke pointedly. “If you’ve got something to say, say it!”

 

With a deep breath, he finally said what was on his mind, “How can you trust them?”

 

“It’s not about trust…”

 

His eyes narrowed and he responded flatly, “Then what is it about?”

 

“I don’t know how to explain it…Lexa was just doing what she thought was right for her people.”

 

“So was Pike,” argued Bellamy.

 

Clarke uncrossed her arms and rested her elbows on her knees in a more submissive stance. Normally, Clarke would be willing to fight with him on the matter, but today was not that day. Even though Pike was currently sitting in a cell guarded heavily, there was something ominous going on. The vessel that was hidden in the catacombs of Polis had definitely come from the thirteenth station that had once orbited Earth. But she wasn’t sure how it was all connected.

 

“I don’t have time for this,” she muttered and seeing the look of aggravation on Bellamy’s face, immediately regretted it. She hadn’t meant to dismiss him like that, but they had bigger problems. “I’m sorry, Bellamy. It’s just…other things have come up.”

 

Throwing his arms up in the air, Bellamy exclaimed, “What could be more important than the future of Arkadia?!”

 

“This is about the future of Arkadia. There is something else going on here. Something bigger than Lexa or Pike. If you would quit moping around maybe you could help us figure it out!” cried Clarke. “And ever since you got here, we haven’t heard word from Kane or Monty since they left for Arkadia.”

 

“What?” asked Bellamy in concern, obviously not what he had expected.

 

“Octavia and Lincoln left about an hour ago to find out what’s going on,” filled in Clarke. A breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding was finally released. She needed Bellamy. They were a team; from the moment they had fallen to Earth, they had always gotten things done together. Being at odds like this was killing her. He was her best friend. She needed to talk this through with him.

 

Bellamy seemed to be having another internal battle. Despite his problems with Lexa and the Grounders, he believed Clarke when she said they had bigger problems. Clearing his throat, he murmured, “Tell me everything.”

 

 

 


	17. An Unlikely Ally

Monty tried not to breath but his chest was heaving from the sprinting he had just done. Luckily, there weren’t many people who knew the Ark like he did. He was currently hidden in a forgotten vent that had been blocked off years ago, way before the Ark fell back to earth. But Monty knew he wasn’t going to last much longer here. It had been over two hours since Kane had told him to run. No one had pursued him at the time, but he could hear them looking for him now.

 

The first option was to remain in the Ark and try to free Kane and the others. But after seeing how scared they were and whatever had happened to them before Monty left, he was unsure that was a good option. It was as if something had been trying to possess them and Monty left before he knew if that had been successful. And if it was, he knew he didn’t want to try to find them.

 

The second option was to find his mother. However, this option presented many problems. The first problem being that Monty had no idea if his mother had made it back to Arkadia. Hannah had plenty of time, but she may have been scared to return after Kane had confronted Pike. The second problem was finding her. Monty had the sinking feeling that everyone here had taken that chip. The third problem was that if he did find her, had she already been taken over by whatever had possessed Raven and the others?

 

That left the third option: go to Polis. Of course, this option came with its own complications. He had been stuck in the vent for going on three hours now. He still had to figure out how to get out of Arkadia. When he and Kane had first arrived, there had been no one patrolling the perimeter, but that may not be true now. But there was one thing that Monty did know: he couldn’t stay here. If he could get out of here, he could go back to Polis and get help.

 

A thought raced across his mind; something that Raven had said. _She needs more minds. She needs the grounders._ Monty still didn’t really know who ‘she’ was. But Raven was obviously distressed and had been trying to warn him. Whoever or whatever ALIE was, she and Jaha were going to go after the grounders and that meant going to Polis. With Pike in custody, Lexa and her coalition would not be expecting an attack from the Sky People. That made up his mind- he needed to get back to Polis. It was the only way to protect his mother, Kane, Raven, and everyone else. Clarke and Lexa needed to know what was going on.

 

Quietly flipping himself onto his stomach, Monty rearranged his rifle on his back to make sure it didn’t bang against the metal of the vent.  He used his arms to slowly crawl along the vent until he found himself over a hallway that led directly to the shower area. It was a bit of a risk, since anyone could be in the hallway or the locker room where the showers were. But this was the quickest way to make it outside, following the pipes that brought in the water.

 

Peering down and listening closely, Monty took a deep breath and a great risk. He leapt down from the ceiling into the hallway, rifle at the ready. Swinging from side to side, he breathed out a sigh of relief as there was no one to shoot. Cautiously, he stepped silently along the hallway. The door to the shower room was closed and he tentatively pushed it open. Silence met him on the other side. Monty hurried to the back of the room where there was a small hatch.

 

Taking one last hesitant look back into the Ark, Monty spun the wheel and pushed against the hatch. The sunlight burst into his eyes and he blinked quickly, knowing that if there was anyone waiting outside, he was completely defenseless. When his vision finally cleared, Monty wasn’t sure if he was lucky or if he should be worried that there was no one there to confront him. He slipped easily through the fence and sprinted towards the tree line. After a few minutes, he paused to catch his breath. As he tried to get a bearing for his surroundings, a voice caused him to jump.

 

“Monty!”

 

Monty fumbled blindly as he whipped around with his rifle raised. Just because someone knew his name, didn’t mean they were friendly anymore. That was obviously from the earlier conversations with Raven and Abby.

 

“What are you going to do? Shoot us?” Octavia stepped out from behind a tree, her head cocked to the side mockingly. Lincoln appeared behind him, his dark eyes unreadable. Neither had their weapons drawn. Why would they? They wouldn’t know that he could have been possessed by Jaha’s mysterious chip.

 

“We’ve got to get back to Polis. We’ve got to warn everyone!” Octavia’s eyes narrowed at Monty’s rushed shouting.

 

She held her hands up defensively, speaking calmly, “Whoa. Hold on. Pike’s in Polis and Lexa has cleared the rest of the Arkadians. We’re just going to Arkadia to find Kane…we need to talk to Jaha.”

 

“No! No…it’s too late. They have Kane now.” Now that he could finally tell someone what was going on, Monty felt his heart beating faster. The panic that he had refused to acknowledge while in the Ark was boiling over.

 

“Start at the beginning,” said Lincoln.

 

“Kane and I got to Arkadia to look for my mom and check on the others. You know, to tell them that Pike had been captured. But there was no one guarding the perimeter and when we finally got in…” The words were flowing quickly. It was finally dawning on Monty that he wasn’t exactly sure what he saw. “We found Raven, Abby, Sinclair, and Wick. They were trying to do something…I’m not sure. But they told us to leave, that she knew we were here and that-”

 

“She?”

 

“I don’t really know... They acted like she was there, inside their heads or something. And then Jake came in and then something took them over. Like suddenly Abby was talking to Kane, begging him to leave and then there was someone else there talking to us. It was scary. Kane told me to run…”

 

Octavia shifted uneasily on her toes and exchanged a look with Lincoln. “This is what Murphy was talking about. That chip…Jaha must have given it to everyone in Arkadia.”

 

“You know?” Monty asked, taken slightly aback.

 

“Murphy showed up with one of the chips. He says it’s some sort of A.I. named ALIE, but we didn’t realize that everyone had taken it. What do you mean it’s taking them over?”

 

“I don’t know how to explain it. When we got there, I think they were trying to get rid of it somehow…”

 

“How?” asked Lincoln. From his memory about the flame, it was only removed from a Commander upon their death.

 

Monty shrugged. Thinking back, he tried to remember what Raven and Sinclair had been working on. There had been monitors, computers, and keyboards scattered across Abby’s sickbay. Raven had set up some sort of contraption that involved an electrical circuit. But other than that, his memory was blurry and he relayed the information to Octavia and Lincoln.

 

“Did they say anything about how to help them?”

 

Monty shook his head. “No, Abby just kept telling us to leave and Raven…Raven said that they needed more minds.”

 

“They’re going to go after the grounders,” murmured Octavia.

 

Lincoln frowned and replied, “But we have the Skaikru Army. There’s no way they would be able to take on Polis and the Coalition.”

 

“Still, we should warn the others,” insisted Monty.

 

“We should try to rescue Kane and some of the others. Maybe they could tell us more, if they’ve really taken the chip. Maybe Kane hasn’t yet!” argued Octavia and Monty was about to protest when Lincoln shook his head.

 

“No. We report to the Heda. Our orders were to find out why there was no longer any contact from Arkadia. We have done that.”

 

“We can’t just leave them!” she protested. “We don’t even know what we’re really up against. We should try to at least get Raven or Abby or even Sinclair out. If they had a plan to stop Jaha and the A.I., we need to know what it is. Maybe they know something we don’t.”

 

“Abby said that ALIE was there with them…in their heads. She would know everything that Raven did. She would know where we are if we took any one of them.”

 

Octavia placed her hands on her hips and paced slowly in front of the two men. Suddenly she stopped and asked, “But if Raven doesn’t know where she is, then neither does the A.I.”

 

“I guess that’s true, but we’d still need her to talk to us.”

 

“Maybe. But we can’t risk someone else taking the chip. If we’re going to figure out how to defeat Jaha and his City of Crazies, we’re going to have to figure out how to get that chip out of their heads.”

 

Monty mulled over Octavia’s words. She did have a point. If they were going to mount a rescue for all of Arkadia, they were going to need to know how to overcome the chip and ALIE. And what Lincoln said was also true- Arkadia’s army was being held by the grounders. And as far as they knew, none of them had taken the chip.

 

When he looked back at the couple, Lincoln and Octavia seemed to be arguing silently. Clearly his throat, he decided to weigh in on the conversation. “I think Octavia’s right. If we can get one person out…”

 

“Raven. We need Raven,” insisted Octavia.

 

“Ok, but that may be harder than you think. And it’s not like we can go in their guns and swords blazing,” he said, motioning his arm to the blades that hung on both Lincoln and Octavia’s backs. “I won’t let you kill our own people.”

 

“Good thing you’ve got two excellent hand to hand combaters here,” smirked Octavia.

 

Lincoln still didn’t look convinced, but he also realized he was outnumbered and that Octavia was going to do whatever she wanted. In a low voice, he asked, “How do we find her?”

 

A grin spread across Octavia’s face.

 

* * *

 

 

Jaha sat up straight and spoke calmly to the entourage in front of him.  To his right was Astrid Rolston and to his right was Darius Marlowe, who was rather handy with a gun. Both were floaters who had been rescued by ALIE and he knew he could trust them. Jaha had left Jake Griffin in charge of Arkadia while he went out for this meeting. ALIE was present as well, of course.

 

ALIE was ready to move forward. The City was filling with people, but they needed more. And they needed to make sure that no one stood in their way. Pike’s crusade had been a nice distraction while Jaha made his plans. But the few soldiers who had accepted their way into the City of Light had allowed ALIE to see Pike’s capture. They needed to act before anyone got back to Arkadia. Right now, they had an advantage: Polis would not be expecting them.

 

“Together we can get what we all want. I can promise you that,” said Jaha and he clasped his hands in front of him.

 

“Skaikru only serves Skaikru,” spat a man’s voice.

 

A single, thin hand rose up in the air to silence him and the grounders in the tent stopped pacing and murmuring. Ontari had made her decision. Jaha saw ALIE smile from across the room. He had been surprised when ALIE had told him that her plan was to approach Azgeda after Queen Nia’s death. But Ontari was hungry for her throne and her people were hungry for their revenge.

 

“I know that my people have been a problem before, but I assure you, those people have been taken out of power. The people I lead do not wish to impose themselves on your way of life. We will help you take your rightful place as Heda and allow Azgeda to rise to power,” reassured Jaha, going over what he had said before. Ontari’s dark eyes were attentive. “All we ask in return is the freedom to remain in Arkadia.”

 

“You do not ask much for what you offer,” stated Ontari.

 

Jaha nodded and replied, “As I said before, you will need to embrace the City of Light before we can help you. This will help me as well. The City will make us strong and connect us in a way you can never imagine.”

 

“There are concerns that your Skaikru ‘key’ will hurt us,” retorted a tall man standing directly behind the young nightblood.

 

“I understand and I realize that telling you that all of my people have taken the key would not reassure you. Perhaps one of you would like to take it before your queen?” The challenge was subtle, but he saw the man bristle.

 

A young woman with a shaved head pushed forward and took a knee before Ontari. “I will take it. We must defeat Lexa and fulfill Azplana’s dream for you.”

 

Two other grounders came forward to kneel beside the woman and offered the same. Jaha tried not to smile as ALIE grinned broadly. They had done it. Once these people found the City of Light, they would convince Ontari to take it as well. And with Ontari came the Ice Nation. Beside him, Astrid produced the silicon key from her bag and held out her hand.

 

A breath seemed to leave the room and whispering began. Jaha wasn’t sure why, but Ontari’s eyes widened at the sight of the little blue object. The young woman who had knelt first rose and whispered, “It is a sign. The sign of the commander for the commander. You will become Heda.”

 

Ontari gently took the chip from Astrid’s outstretched hand. “This is your key?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“This is the sacred symbol of my people.”

 

Jaha stood quickly, thinking fast and replied, “Then it is meant to be. This union, the success of the City of Light and of your ascension, it is meant to be.”

 

Ontari turned once more to look at her people and then back to Jaha. With no hesitation, she placed the chip on her tongue and swallowed. Hands raised, she spoke confidently, “We march on Polis! I will remove Lexa from her throne and Azgeda will reign once more!”

 

Cheers filled the air and Jaha looked at ALIE triumphantly. The City of Light would fill with more minds. And then they would encompass them all.

 


	18. One Chip at a Time

“There’s no way the Skaikru could take Polis,” said Titus proudly and somewhat defensively, as if Monty suggesting so offended him. “We have your army.”

 

Monty shrugged and replied, “I’m just repeating what I heard.”

 

As soon as Monty, Octavia, and Lincoln had returned to Polis, they had sought out Lexa and Clarke. Of course, anything said to Lexa was done in the presence of Titus as well. They were all gathered in the throne room. He had expected Clarke to say more, but maybe she was still processing that her parents were trapped by Jaha and his A.I.

 

“We will not interfere with Skaikru problems.” Titus was speaking again.

 

Before Monty or Octavia could protest, Lincoln spoke up, “I don’t believe this is only a Skaikru problem.”

 

“Go on,” murmured Lexa to Lincoln. Everything that had taken place in the last 24 hours was moving so fast. First, Pike had finally been captured and then the discovery of the sacred symbol in the possession of John Murphy. She had listened to Clarke talk about the sky ships and the one that had fallen to Earth. Just moments ago, Octavia and Lincoln had returned with Monty, an unconscious Raven, and a bag full of Skaikru technology.

 

“When we went back to Arkadia to find Raven, we were met with resistance unlike any I have witnessed before. These were not the fighters of Trikru or like any other passionate warrior I have encountered. They were acting as if there was no soul in them. They had instructions to stop us and no pain or threat deterred them,” reported Lincoln. He still didn’t know how they had escaped with Raven and the other items Monty insisted they take without killing anyone. It had come close many times. And he knew he had left a couple in serious condition that if not treated, they would die soon.

 

For once, Titus had no comment. Lexa glanced between her mentor and her girlfriend, but neither offered any advice. Clarke was deep in thought and Lexa wasn’t sure she had heard much of what Lincoln had reported. But Lexa wasn’t worried about the remaining members of Skaikru under Jaha’s command. Even if they fought like Lincoln said, the warriors in Polis outnumbered them. Polis would never fall.

 

Fighting Skaikru wasn’t what Lexa needed advice about. Everything she had heard made her worry about the Flame that rested at the base of neck. The Flame held the spirits of the commanders and she had always been guided by those who came before her. However, Monty and Lincoln’s reports said that when others took the Skaikru ‘key’, they became someone else. Could that happen to her? Could she be overtaken by this ALIE?

 

She was so lost in her thoughts that Lexa physically jumped when Clarke finally spoke, “We need to talk to Raven.”

 

Octavia shook her head. “I’m not sure how much of Raven is left. I dosed her with one of Abby’s sedatives when we captured her, but the person trying to talk to us wasn’t Raven. It was ALIE.”

 

“You said that they were trying to get rid of the chip when you and Kane found them, right?” Clarke asked Monty, who nodded in response. “So can we finish what they started? If we can separate Raven from ALIE, then maybe Raven can tell us what their plan is.”

 

Monty shrugged. “I tried to gather what they had been working with. My guess is that they were going to use an electrical shock to separate the chip from the body.”

 

“The brainstem. The chip attaches to the brainstem,” said Clarke, glancing briefly at Lexa. Lexa felt a chill down her spine at the memory of Clarke’s fingers tracing over scar where Titus had implanted the Flame during her ascension.

 

“You believe this chip is similar to the Flame, correct?” asked Lexa, a thought flitting across her mind. Titus wasn’t going to like this, but she could see how worried Clarke was for her family and friends. Not to mention if Jaha and his people figured out a way to infiltrate Polis, this chip could present a threat to her people.

 

“Since none of us have seen the Flame, I can’t be certain. But if the first commander did come from the thirteenth station and that is where the Flame originated from…”

 

“Thirteenth station?” asked Monty, his eyes widening. “What’s the Flame?”

 

Clarke took a deep breath before explaining briefly, “We believe that when the thirteenth station was destroyed, someone escaped to Earth and became the first Commander named Becca Pramheda. She passed down the Flame from Heda to Heda. Lexa possesses it now. According to Titus, it is very similar to the chip that Jaha is handing out, but it doesn’t work the way you are describing.”

 

“Titus will help you remove this chip,” decreed Lexa and was not moved by Titus’ immediate protest or Clarke’s surprised look. She stood up from her throne. “If your people thought the chip could be removed with your technology, you will need help from the only living person who has handled the Flame.”

 

“It’s not a bad idea,” agreed Monty. He dragged the heavy bag he had collected from Arkadia into the center of the room. Zipping it open, he revealed a few laptops, keyboards, a few black boxes, and lots of wires. “I’ve been looking at what I grabbed from what the others were working on when Kane and I found them. When we went back for Raven, I picked this stuff up. I think they were trying to find a way to access ALIE’s code and possibly use an electric shock to separate the chip from the brainstem.”

 

“I will not work with this heresy. I am the Keeper of the Flame and I will not lower myself-”

 

Lexa was quick to cut him off. “Your job is to serve my needs. I need to understand this City of Light and the only way to do that is to talk to Raven.”

 

“We won’t need you to operate any of the computers. I just need to know what you know about the chip…I mean the Flame. I think we can use the battery from the rover to power these computers. But you know how the Flame works and maybe these chips can be removed without harming anyone,” said Monty thoughtfully. Raven was downstairs, unconscious, being watched by Miller and Harper. Monty was eager to get to work and free Raven from ALIE.

 

“I’ll go with you,” offered Clarke, knowing that her medical expertise would be useful.

 

The entire entourage went down to the basement where Miller, Harper, and Bellamy were waiting. Clarke was surprised to see Bellamy because even though he had been caught up with what they had discovered, he had been avoiding his friends and the grounders. Both Miller and Harper seemed relieved that their uncomfortable silence had been interrupted.

 

Raven was lying prone on a cot in the middle of the room. She had been blindfolded in case the sedative wore off. Monty was certain that if Raven realized where she was, ALIE would know too. And anything that they said in earshot of Raven, ALIE would hear too. This basement room was bare and could be anywhere so that when they finally needed to talk to Raven, ALIE wouldn’t be able to find them too quickly.

 

Monty unpacked the bag that Lincoln had hauled down for him. He set up two of the laptops and another small screen near a keyboard. While he was connecting all the wires, Miller and Harper fetched Jasper and the rover battery.

 

Clarke approached Lexa and whispered to her, “You should leave. The less people here, the better. If Raven is really connected to ALIE and the others, we don’t want to accidently give anything away. Monty, Titus, and I can handle this.”

 

“I will post guards at the door,” said Lexa in agreement. Clarke reached out and squeezed her hand. Lexa gave her a small smile and murmured, “We will save your people, starting with Raven. I know you can do this, Clarke.”

 

The sincerity in Lexa’s voice made Clarke’s cheeks turn rosy and she stuttered her thanks. Lexa motioned for Octavia and Lincoln to follow her out of the room. Before they had shut the door, Jasper came down the hallway carrying the battery followed by Harper and Miller. Octavia told Harper and Miller to follow her back upstairs, leaving Jasper to Monty and Clarke.

 

Inside the room, Bellamy hovered near Raven. As Clarke approached him, he asked, “Is this really necessary?”

 

“Monty thinks he can remove the chip. Whatever he saw really scared him, Bellamy.” Clarke shook her head, trying not to think of her parents under the influence of ALIE. Why had they taken the chip? She didn’t want to image Jaha forcing them to go along with his plans. “This isn’t Raven, this is ALIE. We’ve got to save them.”

 

“I’m staying.”

 

“The less people-”

 

“If she tries to fight back, Jasper and I can try to hold her while you, Monty, and Titus work.” Clarke was about to protest again, but the look in Bellamy’s eyes stopped her. He was trying to help and make up for his mistakes. They had always worked together and had always succeeded together. He had given her a second chance and it was time for her to do the same. But trust was earned and Bellamy had a lot of work to do to earn it back. Starting with this.

 

“I told you Jaha had lost it,” complained Jasper to Monty as he helped him with the wires.

 

“Well let’s try to find it.” Monty sat back for a moment, looking at his quick work. It wasn’t a bad set up. But Monty had no idea what Raven and Sinclair had been trying to do. From what he could gather, they were going to use an EMP to shock the chip from the brainstem, but that was incredibly dangerous. He needed the correct power and needed to concentrate it to the chip. There was a very high possibility of frying Raven’s brain.

 

Clarke had been talking to Titus and seemed to have come to a decision. The group of five hovered over Raven as Clarke spoke, “We’re going to wake her up to see if we can talk to her. Then we’ll use the EMP to deactivate the chip and Titus will remove it.”

 

Monty looked pale. “I’m not sure what the EMP will do…”

 

“Let’s just talk to Raven first,” said Bellamy. Clarke nodded in agreement and motioned for Titus to move to the back of the room so Raven wouldn’t be able to see him. Then she took a syringe from a medical bag that had been in the rover and pushed the liquid into Raven’s arm.

 

No one spoke as Raven slowly began to wake. First she blinked rapidly and then moved her arms in legs slowly, as if testing her body. Finally, she focused on Clarke. A very un-Raven-like smile appeared on her face.

 

“Clarke Griffin. It is good to finally meet you.” Raven’s lips were moving and it was her voice, but the speech patterns were certainly not Raven’s.

 

“ALIE?” asked Clarke, her voice tense.

 

“So you’ve heard of me…” Raven sat up straight and looked side to side, taking in the presence of Monty, Jasper, and Bellamy. “I see Mr. Green succeeded in his plan to extract Raven from Arkadia. However, in this case, I am pleased that it led me to you.”

 

“Why?” Clarke knew that every minute they spent speaking was one more minute ALIE was using to track them down. But they were safe in Polis and she trusted Lexa to not kill any of the chipped people unless it was necessary.

 

“Your parents have shared so much about you. They want you to join them in the City of Light to be a family again, Clarke. They want you to come home.”

 

Anger burned in Clarke’s face at the mention of Jake and Abby. But she knew that ALIE was trying to get a reaction from her so she calmly said, “I’d like to speak to them. But right now, I’d like to speak to Raven.”

 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Clarke.” Raven tipped her head to the side. “Your friends would be welcome in the City of Light. Together we can do so much, Clarke.”

 

“Never,” snarled Bellamy, but Raven only smiled.

 

For the first time, she seemed to notice the computers behind Monty. A brief flash of recognition flashed across Raven’s face. ALIE knew what they were planning. Clarke realized her mistake as soon as Raven’s quick fingers undid the buckle of her belt and jammed the center point into her wrist. Blood gushed out as she screamed at Bellamy to grab her. Bellamy slammed Raven’s shoulders back onto the cot as she struggled to cut her other wrist, but Jasper ripped the belt off.

 

Raven screamed at Bellamy as he held her arms down and slammed her forehead into his own. Bellamy pulled back in shock but quickly regained his grip on her. Monty was holding down Raven’s legs and Jasper was practically lying across her while Clarke kept Raven’s bleeding wrist raised in the air.

 

Clarke tried not to think about the warm liquid that was running through her fingers and onto her own arm as she struggled to pull gauze from the medical kit. Jasper assisted her as best he could, but had to stop when Raven managed to knee Monty in the nose in order to keep her from flailing out of the cot.

 

“Sedate her!” yelled Bellamy, but Clarke had her hands full trying to stop the bleeding. She couldn’t let Raven die, not like this. Finally, Clarke was able to wrap a bandage tightly around Raven’s wrist and Monty held it as she dug in the medical bag for a sedative. As soon as Clarke stuck her with the needle, Raven quit fighting and fell limp in their arms.

 

No one spoke at first. They were too busy catching their breath to discuss what had happened. Monty grabbed some extra gauze to stuff up his bleeding nose. There was a bruise forming in the middle of Bellamy’s forehead. Clarke tried to wipe Raven’s blood off of her hands, but she was shaking badly. ALIE had tried to kill Raven. Which meant one thing: Raven knew something ALIE didn’t want her to share with them. It also meant that ALIE thought they could free Raven from the City of Light.

 

“What are you smiling about?” asked Bellamy bitterly. Clarke hadn’t even realized she was smiling.

 

“We’re going to win,” she whispered, letting her thoughts sink in. “ALIE tried to kill Raven because we are going to succeed and Raven is going to know how to defeat her.”

 

“Den les do it,” mumbled Monty, his voice changed because of his broken nose. Motioning to Jasper, the two untangled the wires. Clarke and Bellamy carefully turned Raven onto her stomach so the boys could access her neck. Monty and Jasper attached little patches to her head and the back of her neck.

 

Everyone stood back and looked at Monty who had knelt in front of his computers. Nervously, he looked to Clarke for permission to continue. She nodded and Monty flipped on the battery. They heard the electricity whorl and then Raven jerked as her body convulsed for a few seconds. Then she lay motionless.

 

“Are you ready?” asked Titus. He had remained in the corner, out of Raven’s line of sight during the entire ordeal.

 

Clarke waved him over and the grounder removed a small pouch from his robes. He drew out two small blades. Kneeling beside the cot, he moved the electrical patches from Raven’s neck. Then with a steady hand, he drew a blade across Raven’s skin to create a small incision about the size of the scar on the back of Lexa’s neck. Titus used both blades to peel her skin apart and pried out the silicon chip.

 

Releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, Clarke accepted the chip that Titus offered her. Now they waited. After bandaging her neck, they rolled Raven back over on the cot. Clarke checked her vitals, but they wouldn’t know of any damage by the EMP or the removal of the chip until she woke up. Titus left the Arkadians to themselves.

 

It was nearly thirty minutes before Raven moved. With a groan, Raven raised her hand to rub her eyes. Blinking, she sat up tentatively and looked around the room. Everyone stood tensely nearby; ready to act if this wasn’t the Raven they knew.

 

“They’re coming,” she rasped. “We need to act fast.”


	19. The City of Light, Part I

Lexa stared into the dirty and cracked mirror. The black paint around her eyes was freshly applied and she adjusted her shoulder armor as she checked her reflection. She was the Heda, leader of her people and today she would fight for them once more. Only this time, she did not fully understand what she was fighting. Narrowing her dark eyes, Lexa stared down her reflection: she shall show no weakness.

 

With a sharp turn on her heel, Lexa walked firmly to where her sword hung by her bed. She was hooking her belt when the door to her chambers opened. Lexa allowed her lips to form a smile when she saw Clarke stride confidently in. Clarke, too, was dressed for war. Instead of a sword by her side, Clarke carried two pistols in the holsters on her hips. Lexa knew there were additional blades in Clarke’s boot and up a sleeve.

 

A wild thought suddenly flitted across Lexa’s brain: she needed to teach the girl to properly fight with a sword and knives. After this, after they finally had peace, she was going to train her. The thought of sparring with Clarke brought a smile to her lips. She tried to hide it, but Clarke was quick to notice.

 

“What?” asked Clarke self-consciously.

 

“I’m thinking about the future,” murmured Lexa honestly. She had to have faith that they would get through this.

 

Clarke didn’t know what to say so she opted to say nothing. Instead she fingered her pistols and waited for Lexa to join her at the door. When the Heda did walk up to stand beside her by the door, she was surprised that Lexa didn’t immediately leave. Instead, Lexa reached up to cup Clarke’s face with her hand.

 

“I want us to have a future, Klark kom Skaikru,” said Lexa earnestly. The hand on Clarke’s cheek slipped around the back of her head to curl around blonde hair. Lexa pulled her forward gently and kissed her lips.

 

After she returned the kiss in earnest, Clarke replied, “We will. I promise.” And she meant it. But now they had work to do.

 

They walked to the throne room together where Lexa had gathered the representatives from her Coalition including Clarke to represent Skaikru. Trikru had sent word of Azgeda organizing troops under Queen Nia’s nightblood, Ontari, but that wasn’t the worst news. Seen with Ontari as she led her warriors toward Polis was Thelonious Jaha. Jaha and ALIE had their army and they were coming for Polis.

 

According to Raven, ALIE was after the Flame. Just as they had suspected, the same person had created both ALIE and the Flame, or as Raven had been referring to it: ALIE 2.0. Clarke knew that Lexa was bothered by the revelations. Clarke had been surrounded by technology all her life, even if she had never seen anything like ALIE before. But for Lexa, Titus, and the other grounders, it was a hard concept to really grasp.

 

But Clarke firmly believed that the Flame somehow preserved the memory of the Hedas that came before Lexa. From what Raven had told them, the City of Light held on to the people who entered it. That if you died in the real world, you continued to live in the City. But Lexa had not wanted to discuss it and Clarke didn’t want to push her.

 

The representatives were in an uproar and Titus was having difficulty controlling them. Even the presence of Lexa didn’t stem their shouting and arguing. Although the Grounders had no problem standing against the Sky People, Azgeda was a differed issue. Some were insistent that because King Roan was not part of those marching upon Polis, these grounders could not call themselves part of the Ice Nation. However, there were still those who thought that attacking fellow grounders at the word of Clarke and her people was treachery against their coalition.

 

Lexa tried to listen to both sides, but even Titus was unsure of how to advise her. Taking a seat in her throne, she made her decision and raised her hand for silence. Speaking firmly so that there would be no misunderstanding, Lexa declared, “Those who march against Polis march against their Heda. When I removed Queen Nia from power, I did not declare this usurper Ontari to take her place. If our people have sided with the Skaikru leader, then they are traitors to our coalition.”

 

There was some murmuring, but no one outright defied their Heda. Lexa continued, “However, it has been told to me that Ontari and her followers may not be of their own minds. The Skaikru leader Jaha discovered a technology unknown to us. He is using it to control not only the people of Azgeda, but of Arkadia as well. I need to ask of you something that I have never before: do not take the lives of those who march against us.”

 

This announcement caused most of her council to protest.  Of course they would follow their Heda into battle, but jus drein jus daun. To ask them to fight an unknown technology without deadly force was asking a lot. Perhaps too much. Clarke knew that Lexa had faith in her people, but they really had no idea how to defeat Jaha and ALIE. Lexa’s people were the only thing standing between the advancing army and the flame that resided in Lexa.

 

“You trust too much in Skaikru!”

 

“They deceive you!”

 

“Jus drein jus daun!”

 

Lexa stood, drawing her sword suddenly and cried, “There has been no blood to avenge! We will defend Polis until this matter can be settled, but it will not be with a blade or arrow! Do you challenge my order?”

 

One of the nearest representatives moved to the middle of the room and took a knee. His head was bowed in reverence, but his fists were clutched as he said, “We wish to serve you, Heda, but you cannot ask my people to die for you without being able to defend themselves.”

 

“Then go,” barked Lexa, her eyes narrowed with irritation. But Lexa knew this could happen. “I only need those who are loyal.”

 

The man stood tense at her words, but did not flinch at the implication of not being loyal. He replied just as crisply, “I will stay to defend you and I offer my personal guard to help hold Polis, but I will send my warriors to defend our lands against the threat of Azgeda and Skaikru. There, they will be able to shed the blood of our enemies without your permission.”

 

Even Titus said nothing to this proposition. He had warned Lexa that the other clans would not allow their own to be slaughtered without taking lives themselves. Even after Clarke had explained that Ontari and the other Azgeda were unable to stop themselves, Titus had taken the position that any grounder would die rather than be taken under ALIE’s power and that killing those in her control would be a mercy.

 

But this offer of a small defense, if her other representatives saw this as an option as well, could be tactfully advantageous. A few good warriors had done as much damage as armies in the past. And perhaps they would not be seen as great of a threat to ALIE and less would have to die. In that moment, Lexa felt the brush of the past commanders in her mind. This was the right choice, just as her ascension had been, just as the peace between the clans had been, or the decision to betray Clarke to rescue her people from the Mountain Men, or even trusting Clarke and her people again had been.

 

“So be it,” she ordered. Her eyes flickered over the other representatives and she could see them murmuring to themselves. Another representative, this time a woman, knelt next to the first man and offered the same. One by one, her people knelt before her and swore their loyalty.

 

* * *

 

 

In the depths of the tower, Raven huddled over a computer with Monty and Jasper next to her. Her fingers flew over the keyboard with a new knowledge of how ALIE and her City of Light worked. Titus had given them the book that Becca had written and Raven had utilized the tools at her disposal to work her way into ALIE’s algorithm.

 

“What does ALIE need the flame for?” asked Monty curiously as he watched Raven work.

 

“She sees it as the perfect version of herself. She needs it to complete her mission to save mankind.”

 

Jasper raised an eyebrow and asked, “And saving mankind is a bad thing because?”

 

“Because ALIE’s version of saving the world involved blowing it up,” answered Monty, eyeing his best friend with apprehension. With the task at hand, Jasper had been more focused and like his old self than ever before. But Monty knew how tempted he had been by the City.

 

“I think I know what to do!” exclaimed Raven and Monty pulled his eyes away from Jasper to look at the screen. “There’s a kill switch, but she’s got it protected. I don’t think I can stop it from here.”

 

“Then what? It’s not like we can just go to the City of Light and flip the switch…” muttered Monty, but then he saw the look in Raven’s eyes. “No…that’s impossible! ALIE will just override anyone who takes the chip and then she’ll know our plans!”

 

“Not if Lexa takes the chip,” replied Raven, her eyes wide with a plan. She reached out for the bloody chip that Clarke had removed from her neck only a few hours before and set it next to the brand new one that Murphy had brought to Polis. Her fingers then rushed back to the keys.

 

Jasper frowned. “But wasn’t the whole idea to not let ALIE get the thing in Lexa’s head? I mean, wouldn’t you just be giving ALIE exactly what she wants?”

 

“And even if ALIE didn’t take over Lexa, how would Lexa know what to do? She’s never even seen a computer, let alone understand how one works!” reasoned Monty, sure at this point that either ALIE or the EMP had done permanent damage to Raven’s brain.

 

“I can alter the chip that you fried with the EMP. It won’t work perfectly, probably only for about an hour, but because it’s damaged, ALIE won’t be able to take over the person who is using it. Clarke can go into the City with Lexa and we can help from here. Together, we can destroy the City of Light!”

 

“You’re sure it can work?”

  
“Give me ten minutes and then we have to get to Clarke. Trust me, I know what ALIE can do,” Raven unconsciously touched her bandaged wrist. “We have to stop this before anyone else gets hurt.”

 

Monty nodded and rushed to the door where Bellamy and Miller were standing guard. He briefly told them of their plan. He knew that if this was going to work, they would need to barricade themselves to protect Lexa and Clarke. Miller ran ahead to gather the others while Bellamy waited for Raven to finish.

 

Finally, Raven grabbed Jasper’s hand and pressed the two chips into it, saying, “Give the damaged one to Clarke and the other to Lexa. Monty and I will stay here to monitor their progress and help them the best we can.”

 

Carefully, Jasper tucked the precious chips into his pocket and raced for the door to send Monty back inside. Before either could say good luck, a door at the end of the hallway was thrown off its hinges and slammed to the floor with a great clatter. Bellamy raised his rifle to focus on the doorway and managed to keep it steady when Kane walked thought it with two grounders at his side.

 

“Hello Bellamy,” he said calmly, raising his had to signal his followers to stop. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

 

“Neither do I,” came Bellamy’s chipped reply, never lowering his weapon.

 

Kane sighed and shook his head, “We don’t need the guns. The reason you are resistant to the City is that you don’t truly understand it. I wasn’t sure at first either, but together we can accomplish so much and ALIE can show us how.”

 

“That’s not really you saying this.”

 

“Put the gun down, Bellamy,” Kane warned, his tone quickly growing darker. “Let’s all go to Lexa and explain ourselves. That’s all we want.”

 

“No,” said Bellamy and without turning his eyes away from Kane, he said to Monty and Jasper, “Monty get back in there and barricade the door. Jasper, go!”

 

Monty glanced at his best friend, trying to convey his best luck, before shutting the door and the sound of a thick metal bar falling into place could be heard. Jasper backed away from Bellamy slowly first, and watched as Kane drew his pistol and pointed toward them both. “I’m warning you one last time to stop!”

 

“Run, Jasper, and no matter what, don’t look back!” shouted Bellamy as he started to step toward Kane and the grounders who were drawing their own weapons. Bellamy’s eyes met the dark gaze of the ALIE-possessed Marcus Kane and knew what was about to happen before saw Kane’s finger tighten around the trigger.

 

Jasper didn’t stop running when he heard the gunshot.


	20. The City of Light, Part II

Clarke could see the mass exodus of grounders through the back gates of Polis from the window of Lexa’s throne room. In the opposite direction, she could see Jaha and Ontari’s army forming outside of the front gates. Hopefully, it would take them a while to break through. A few members of Lexa’s representatives were leading a few men, including Harper, to help hold the gate. After Miller had come to report that Raven had a plan and to be ready, he and Bryan had gone downstairs to help defend the controls of the lift in case of a breach.

 

That left Clarke alone with Titus and Lexa in the throne room. There were a number of guards posted along the hallway, but it was just the three of them waiting for Raven, Monty, and Jasper. Lexa was pacing in the middle of the room, unsure of how to stand by and do nothing. She was used to action. Titus appeared to be meditating in the corner. However, all three of them stared at the door when a muffled gunshot rang out.

 

Lexa’s hand flew to her sword, but there were no more gunshots. She walked over to where Clarke stood, but instead of facing the window, she watched the door to the throne room, just as Clarke was. Lexa murmured to Clarke, “Do you think someone misfired their weapon?”

 

Clarke frowned. Her friends were well trained with their firearms at this point, but it was odd that there had only been one gunshot. Before she could speculate further, there were voices out in the hallway. One of Lexa’s guard pushed open the door and started to say something, but he was shoved aside by a frantic Jasper.

 

“Kane and some grounders snuck in!” Jasper blurted out without catching his breath. “Bellamy had them in the hallway, but I don’t know what happened!”

 

Clarke’s mind whirled around the implication of the one gunshot. If it was Kane, he would have only needed one to kill Bellamy, but Bellamy wouldn’t wanted to kill Kane. So did he fire off a round and then surrender? Or did Kane shoot Bellamy?

 

Lexa was clearly not thinking of Bellamy or Kane, but about the mission at hand because she approached Jasper to ask, “Do you have the chips?”

 

He nodded and pulled the two silicon chips out of his pocket to present to her. One was the pristine blue chip that Murphy had brought and the other still had Raven’s blood on it. Now able to breathe properly, he reported, “Raven said that Clarke needs to take the damaged chip. She’s reprogrammed it so that ALIE won’t be able to control you like the others.”

 

“What do we need to do?” asked Clarke, pushing Bellamy to the back of her mind. If Bellamy was still alive, the only way Clarke could help him or Kane was to find the kill switch and stop ALIE.

 

“Once you get into the City, Raven is going to help you find the switch.”

 

“That seems very simple,” noted Lexa cautiously and her eyes narrowed as she studied the chips that Clarke had taken from Jasper. Titus stood by silently. He had not said much in the last few hours. It was obvious that he was apprehensive about trusting Lexa’s fate to Skaikru technology, but Lexa was determined.

 

Clarke shook her head. “They will try to stop us in the City. And if we kill anyone in the City, then they will be dead in the real world as well.”

 

“We may not have a choice. Sacrificing a few for the fate of all would be a worthy death.” Lexa held out her hand to Clarke, waiting for her to place the chip in her hand. “Oso throu daun ogeda, Klark kom Skaikru.”

 

“Oso throu daun ogeda,” repeated Clarke, her heart hammering in her chest and she passed the undamaged chip to Lexa. This came down to just the two of them. Even if the grounders and those left from Arkadia managed to hold off Jaha and ALIE, it would just put off the inevitable. ALIE had to be shut down from inside the City of Light.

 

Lexa and Clarke walked up to the dais where Lexa took her throne and Clarke sat in the chair arranged next to her. Titus knelt before his commander and said, “Ai badan Heda op. Ai wich Heda in.”

 

“Ai na komba raun en wimplei.” Lexa looked to her right and restated, “Oso na komba raun en wimplei.”

 

Together, the two young women brought the silicon chips to their mouth and swallowed. Both closed their eyes and allowed the technology to overtake their senses. Neither knew what to expect and when they opened their eyes, they were both shocked at the view.

 

The concrete area was full of people walking right past them as if Clarke and Lexa didn’t exist. Around them the tall buildings rose into the sky, all shiny with metal and gleaming glass. Clarke instantly was taken back to the classes on the Ark as they were taught about the metropolises that had existed on Earth over a hundred years ago.

 

“I guess I should have known it would be an actual city,” murmured Clarke, more to herself than Lexa. Jaha had described it as the City of Light…and it was exactly that: a bright, blinding infrastructure complete with bustling people and towering buildings blocking out the sun.

 

“They do not see us.” Lexa had drawn her swords as soon as she had awakened. But the people around her, the people she thought would be attacking, walked on as if she wasn’t there. While Clarke was taking in the sights, Lexa was busy studying the people who were walking by. They all wore a simple smile, as if all was right in the world. There were no lines of worry or apprehension. Lexa wasn’t sure if she had ever felt as care-free as the inhabitants of the City looked.

 

“Raven must be hiding us from ALIE, but I don’t know how long it will last.” Clarke turned in a circle, trying to figure out where to go first. Nothing stood out as being an obvious place that ALIE may be hiding her kill switch.

 

A hand touched her shoulder and she drew her knife only to find Lexa pointing to a person walking away from them. Squinting into the crowd, Clarke saw what Lexa had noticed: an infinity symbol, the sacred symbol, was shimmering at them on the back of a man’s jacket. The two women exchanged a glance and quickly set off after the symbol.

 

Before they could reach it, however, it seemed to disappear. Clarke glanced around frantically before she saw the symbol again, this time braided into a woman’s hair. She cried, “There!” and the two raced off again. They followed the woman through the crowd until they found themselves at a crossroad.

 

“On the sign,” pointed Lexa. On a sign pointing ‘One Way’, the symbol had been drawn over the arrow in white paint. This time, as they jogged down the street, there were fewer and fewer people around them. They were away from the main crowd.

 

Suddenly Clarke felt a tingling on the back of her neck and she had the feeling she was being watched. Slowing to a walk, she started to look at the people around her and her heart dropped when she saw that they were looking back at her. Whispering, she said, “Lexa, they can see us now. ALIE must be overriding Raven’s programming.”

 

“Then we need to hurry,” came the curt reply. But in response, Lexa had brought back out her swords.

 

Again, they picked up speed, but they soon found themselves facing a chain link fence. Beyond the fence, Clarke could see the symbol shining off a rounded door that was embedded in the side of the wall. However, before they could make a decision as to where to go next, a body hurled itself into Clarke’s back.

 

Blood gushed from Clarke’s nose as she came face to face with the hard concrete. Lexa hauled the attacker off of Clarke, striking him in the head with the hilt of her sword. She didn’t have time to help Clarke up as two more people ran at them. Lexa threw her shoulder into the first, diverting him in the fence with force. She grabbed the other around the neck, forcing them down onto their knees. Clarke pushed herself off the ground and into the legs of the first attacker. She managed to bring him down, but more people were converging on them.

 

“We cannot hold them off without hurting them,” shouted Lexa as she took in the numbers coming at them. ALIE attackers did not have weapons, but it did not appear that they were restraining themselves not to cause deadly harm to Lexa or Clarke.

 

Clarke knew she was right and remembered what Lexa had said in the throne room: Sacrificing a few for the fate of all would be a worthy death. Gritting her teeth and tasting her own blood, she slammed her fist into the jaw of another person, sending them to the ground. Something inside of Clarke was telling her that they just needed to get to the circular door on the other side of the fence.

 

“We’re so close! We just need to get over the fence and that’s where the switch is!” she shouted as she shoved and kicked back the aggressive people around her.

 

Lexa slammed a small knife into the foot of the nearest attacker, pinning them to the ground. “Go! You can do it alone. I will keep them back!”

 

“We’re doing this together, Lexa!”

 

“I can fight them and you know how to disable this world. We are doing this together, ai snogon.” Lexa’s dark eyes found Clarke’s and she told her, “Go! Go and free us from this place!”

 

Lexa swung her swords and shoved back the crowd. Clarke grabbed the chain links and began hauling herself up and over the fence. She knew she couldn’t look back and she sprinted for the round door. If she looked back, she would return to Lexa’s side and they may both be captured or killed by ALIE’s forces. But Lexa had told her to save them all and that’s what Clarke intended on doing.

 

Blood was smeared across her face and she could barely catch her breath when she finally reached the door. Behind her, she could hear Lexa’s triumphant battle cries and knew that her lover was still alive. The door in front of her opened with a single push and she had to shield her eyes from the blinding whiteness inside.

 

Forcing herself into the room, her eyes finally adjusted to the artificial light. The room was sparkling white and there were four occupants waiting for her: two dark haired women with identical faces that she could only guess were ALIE and Becca. The other two were Jake and Abby Griffin. ALIE had brought her parents to stop her.

 

* * *

 

 

The ringing of the gunshot still echoed in Bellamy’s ears and he blinked rapidly to clear his mind. There was a searing pain in his shoulder, but he was alive. In front of him, Indra stood over an unconscious Kane and she had four warriors subduing the other men.

 

“We blocked the entrance they came through,” she reported to Bellamy.

 

“ALIE will know that they’re down.”

 

Indra frowned and glanced at the door that Bellamy had been protecting. “Is your plan working?”

 

“I hope so,” he muttered and knocked twice on the door. “It’s me. Indra and the others took down Kane.”

 

There was a sound of a heavy object being moved on the other side of the door and then there was a pause before Monty’s voice called out, “How do I know Kane didn’t convince you to take the chip?”

 

Bellamy grinned at the other boy’s quick thinking and replied, “Because I know that Raven gave Jasper two chips to take to Lexa and Clarke.”

 

The answer satisfied Monty and he unbolted the door to let Bellamy and Indra inside. Indra’s eyes widened at the sight of Raven’s computers. Even after seeing Skaikru technology a few times, it still surprised her. Raven’s hands were moving quickly across the keys.

 

Monty motioned them over to the computers and said, “They’re in. Raven is trying to guide them to the kill switch. So far, so good.”

 

“How long does she think it will take?” Monty shrugged at Bellamy’s question and Raven was too busy to answer.

 

Before anymore could be said, however, a loud explosion echoed beneath them and the room shook. Bellamy and Indra raced to the door, but only Indra’s people stood outside. Bellamy turned back to his friends and said, “They must have blown up the lift.”

 

A young grounder sprinted down the hallway toward them and reported, “Emo komb’ir!”

 

“They have broken our defenses and are in the City,” said Indra and she drew her sword. “If your people have set off the explosion, that means they are already in the tower.”

 

“Miller and Bryan will hold them off from below and Titus has Lexa’s guard in the throne room,” said Bellamy, thinking about the best course of action. “ALIE will know that Raven is here, since Kane found us. We have to stay here to defend them. Without Raven, Clarke and Lexa will be lost.”

 

“We will hold this position, but tell your people to work fast.” Indra joined her people in the hallway, all prepared to do battle. Bellamy nodded and rushed back into the room. He and Monty moved the heavy desk back into place to block the door. Both pointed their guns at the door and waited.

 

Behind them, Raven had stopped typing. In a grave voice, she said, “ALIE knows they’re there, but Clarke has found the kill switch.”

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Bellamy.

 

“ALIE is there to stop her with Abby and Jake. There’s nothing I can do to help without killing them both.”

 

Monty’s eyes grew wide and in a soft voice, he whispered, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Mom? Dad?” breathed Clarke.

 

“Hello, honey,” replied Abby, but her words didn’t carry the same emotion as they used to. ALIE knew what Clarke wanted to here, but not the heart behind the words.

 

Jake stepped forward and reached out his arms, “I’m glad you’re finally here.”

 

Clarke backed away, unable to embrace her father. This was not the same father she had longed for every night during her time locked up on the Ark; this was not the same father she had dreamed would see the stars from Earth instead of the metal space ship; nor was this the same father who had returned to her alive.

 

“I’m sorry, Clarke.” The dark haired woman who the grounders called Becca Primeheda stood apart from the other three. “I didn’t know she would bring them here.”

 

“Where’s the switch?” asked Clarke as she tried to ignore her parents. Abby had joined Jake in front of her now and their hands were clasped together.

 

Becca motioned to a white table in the middle of the room and said, “It’s here. But only the mind in control can operate it. ALIE is trying to find a way to delete the kill switch, so she’s trying to distract you.”

 

“The mind in control?”

 

“You have taken the key and entered the City. She is trying to override you. The Heda holds ALIE 2.0, the alternate version I created after ALIE destroyed everything. If ALIE can keep you from operating the kill switch, then she can take over the second version of her programming,” explained Becca.

 

“But I’m in control,” stated Clarke with confidence. Lexa was outside, defending her. She had to do this fast. The army attacking Polis wouldn’t wait forever.

 

“You’re in control right now. That could change,” warned Becca and she looked at ALIE standing a few feet behind Abby and Jake.

 

Clarke started to walk to the table that held the kill switch, but Abby let go of Jake’s hand and moved in front of Clarke to block her from the switch. Jake moved to Clarke’s side, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. “Our daughter, we are so proud of you. But it’s time to stop fighting.”

 

“I’m sorry, Dad, but I can’t. You don’t know what you’re saying.” Clarke stepped away from her parents and Jake’s hand fell from her shoulder to his side.

 

“ALIE is trying to save us,” murmured Abby, still between Clarke and the kill switch. “It’s in her programming…she is only here to save us. By using the second version of her program, she will only become better. But if you flip that switch, we won’t have her protection!”

 

“Mom, her protection killed billions of people! We need to do this on our own!”

 

“ALIE thought she could help humanity with their problem,” said Becca, staring at her creation.

 

“I did,” stated ALIE.

 

“You murdered six and a half billion people to solve the problem of overpopulation,” retorted Becca. “You could only focus on solving the problem…but you could not figure out a better way to get there. Sometimes, only part of a problem can be fixed.”

 

“I am saving them now,” said ALIE, shaking her head. “They are here, in the City of Light, where nothing can hurt them.”

 

Jake spoke to Clarke, “Can’t you see it, Clarke? All those problems we had on the Ark and on Earth before this, can all be solved! In the City there is no pain, there is no hunger, no murder, or hate. Humanity can survive itself!”

 

“This isn’t living, Dad,” cried Clarke desperately. Jake circled around her to join her mother. The two joined hands once more. Seeing this, Clarke said, “This is all an illusion! You are holding hands because that’s what ALIE told you to do! You aren’t doing it out of love or even for strength…it means nothing.”

 

“Clarke, the more you interact with them, the more time you give ALIE to try and stop Lexa and obtain ALIE 2.0,” warned Becca.

 

But Clarke could only see her parents standing there together. They had been a family on the Ark. But they weren’t on the Ark anymore. “There is no pain or hunger, but there is no passion or love either. This isn’t a life a human is supposed to live. ALIE doesn’t understand what life means…”

 

“But we love you, Clarke,” said Abby, her eyes emotionless.

 

“We can be together, Clarke,” added Jake. “You missed me so much when you thought I was dead. Remember that pain, Clarke? ALIE can take that away. All will be as it was before.”

 

“It can’t…” whispered Clarke as she felt tears start to fall. “You aren’t my parents. You are just echoes of them. ALIE has taken away your souls.”

 

“You would risk our lives? Just to stop ALIE?” asked Abby.

 

Clarke swallowed and nodded. “It’s who you raised me to be.”

 

Pushing past her parents, Clarke walked to stand beside Becca, in front of the switch. “All I have to do is pull it?”

 

“Then it will all be over,” replied Becca with a nod. “Do what I couldn’t, Clarke. Save humanity.”

 

Clarke, her thoughts filled with images of her parents, her friends, and of Lexa…brave, loving Lexa who was fighting to give her this chance, reached out her hand and firmly wrapped her fingers around the white handle.

 

Then she pulled…and the world went black.

 

 

Translations:

Oso throu daun ogeda: We fight together

Ai badan Heda op: I serve the commander

Ai wich Heda in: I believe/trust in my commander

Ai/Oso na komba raun en wimplei: I/We will return in victory.

Ai snogon: my love

Emo komb’ir: They’re coming

 


	21. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it...the final chapter. Thank you all for your kudos and reviews. Please feel free to contact me here or on fanfiction . net or on tumblr (songbookff). Love you all.

They are going to kill Abby. That was the first thing Marcus Kane remembered when he woke up. They are going to kill Abby. The room spun around him as he sat up too quickly and he quickly placed his head in his hands. He felt the bile in the back of his throat but swallowed it back. His head ached and not just because he had tried to sit up too fast. Tenderly, he touched the back of his head and felt the clump of dried blood in his hair.

Looking around, he saw that he was in alone in a hallway. Well, not completely alone. Two men lay a few feet away. From the rise and fall of their chests, Kane assumed they had been knocked unconscious like him. By the looks of the walls and since the men in front of him were grounders, he guessed he was in Polis and not in Arkadia. He could only remember Arkadia…that’s where Abby was.

“Good to see you awake,” spoke a female voice behind him. Kane hadn’t noticed Indra standing in the corner. She cocked her head to the side and said, “I hit you harder than I thought.”

“You hit me?” Kane had a brief memory of standing in the hallway, speaking to someone before he had felt a pain in the back of his head. Who had he been talking to? Closing his eyes, he tried to remember. Bellamy’s voice came to him…Bellamy had been there. Kane had spoken to him, but it seemed like a distant memory now. His eyes snapped open as he remembered the seconds before Indra had knocked him out. “Is Bellamy okay?”

“His is alive. He and the others went upstairs.” Indra nodded towards the stairs. “Your people were successful.”

“I don’t understand…” Kane stood up slowly and faced Indra. “How did I get here? The last thing I remember was finding being in Arkadia. They were going to kill Abby…”

Indra’s firm features softened at the crack in his voice when he said Abby’s name. “You took the chip and became a part of the army. The others are upstairs…they can explain.”

“Is Abby…” Kane choked over the next words. While he couldn’t remember how he got to Polis, the moments before he took the chip were perfectly clear. Abby had taken the handgun from his belt and he thought she was going to shoot him. Instead, she had turned the gun on herself. He would have done anything to stop her from dying and ALIE had known it. So he had done what she asked.

“I don’t know,” answered Indra truthfully. When Bellamy, Monty, and Raven had told her that Clarke had stopped ALIE, she had agreed to wait here for Kane and the others to wake up while they went upstairs to find Clarke and Lexa. She had heard nothing about those who had been under ALIE’s power. So she urged, “Go upstairs. I hope she’s there.”

Kane nodded and started down the hallway towards the stairs before he stopped and turned back to his friend. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t kill anyone.”

He swallowed back his emotions and nodded at her. Then he tried to ignore the pain in his head as he climbed up the flights of stairs to the throne room. There were several uneasy looking guards in the hallway, but they didn’t say anything or try to stop him. Kane could hear soft voices on the other side of the door and he strained his ears to pick up Abby’s voice. His heart was hammering so loudly that even if she was inside, he wouldn’t be able to hear her.

The door let out a creak when he pushed forward and every eye was on him when he entered the throne room. Nearest to him were Bellamy and Octavia. Octavia was wrapping her brother’s arm and Kane felt a pang of guilt erupt in his chest. Seeing Kane, Bellamy brushed off his sister to approach him.

Kane started to open his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find the words. But Bellamy didn’t need words. The young man embraced Kane tenderly. Careful of Bellamy’s injured arm, the arm that he had shot, Kane wrapped his own arms around Bellamy. Kane felt the pressure in his chest subside as he matched his breathing to Bellamy’s own.

“Good to have you back,” said Octavia with a small smile. Lincoln had joined them, his arm coming to rest around Octavia’s shoulders. All Kane could do was nod at them; his voice was still lost to him.

Looking around the room, he saw Raven, Monty, and Jasper with their heads together in the middle of the room. Miller rested in one of the chairs with his head on Bryan’s chest and Harper was sitting at their feet. They looked exhausted. A few grounders who Kane guessed were part of Lexa’s coalition were in the back of the room. Titus stood stiffly near the dais. Sitting at the base of the throne on the dais was Clarke and Lexa. The two young women had their foreheads pressed together, whispering quietly to each other.

Abby wasn’t here. Kane’s breath quickened again. He tried to distract himself by asking Bellamy, “What happened?”

“Clarke and Lexa went into the City of Light and shut it down from the inside. ALIE had overridden your free will. You didn’t know what you were doing,” he replied.

“I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t.” Kane tried to smile at Bellamy’s attempt to reassure him, but his lips barely twitched.

The door opened again and Kane whirled around. First came Wick and Sinclair who immediately rushed to Raven. Wick swept her up in his arms, whirling her around. Sinclair was patting Monty on the back and beaming at Raven. Kane turned away from the happy reunion to stare at the still open door. His breath seemed to leave his body when Abby walked in. She didn’t have a scratch on her, but her face was wrinkled in concern.

“Clarke!” she cried as her eyes found her daughter. Kane tried to get his breathing under control as he watched Abby embrace Clarke. Abby seemed to be crying and Clarke was trying to reassure her mother. Watching the two of them together lifted the burden from his chest. Abby had her daughter and she was alive. Jaha and ALIE hadn’t taken that from him.

At the door, six more people were hovering awkwardly. Kane stiffed at the sight of Jake and Jaha standing side by side. Behind them were the other floaters: Astrid, Darius, Elias, and Dr. Whalen. A hush fell over the room at their appearance. No one knew what to say or do.

Or at least, no one but Octavia knew what to say. Drawing herself to her full height, she moved to block the newcomers from walking any further into the room. Addressing Jaha, she spat, “How dare you show your face here!”

Jaha didn’t respond at first. It seemed that, without ALIE, he didn’t know what to say. But Octavia stood firmly in front of him, her eyes demanding an answer. Jaha cleared his throat and said, “ALIE used us all.”

“She wouldn’t have used anyone if it wasn’t for you!”

Jake put a hand on Jaha’s shoulder and whispered, “Maybe you should go. Let me talk to Clarke and Abby.”

Kane took a deep breath and said, “If we are going to pardon those under ALIE’s control, then you will be pardoned as well. If we are to be forgiven, we are all to be forgiven.”

Abby’s head snapped in his direction, just realizing that he was in the room. The look of relief on her face as she saw that he was alive and unharmed warmed Kane’s heart. It gave him strength to take control of the situation. So he continued, “But Jake is right. Perhaps now is not the right time to have this conversation.”

Jaha nodded his head and replied, “I will leave.” He slipped his hood over his head and headed back out the door.

The tension left with Jaha and the entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Clarke approached her father tentatively before Jake wrapped his arms around her. Kane watched them with a smile. Abby, no longer holding her daughter, walked up to him quietly. His eyes swept over her, looking for any injury that he had missed when she entered and was happy to fine none.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but Kane shook his head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Abby blinked guiltily and replied, “You only took the chip because of me…”

“We can’t keep blaming everyone. It happened. It’s over.” With that Kane reached out for her and she pushed herself into his arms. He felt complete, holding her. It felt like decades since they said goodbye in Medical. He hadn’t gotten to hold her like this when he and Monty had found her before. She completed him in this embrace. He could feel her steady breathing and her heart beat against his chest.

“It’s over,” echoed Abby. Her voice was muffled in neck. She was gripping his back while she hugged him as if she was trying to pull his strength into her. When she finally pulled away, she was smiling. Abby turned her body toward where Clarke was introducing Lexa to her father and Kane slung his arm over shoulders.

“Your daughter saved us again,” he murmured into her hair before he pressed a chaste kiss to the side of her head.

Abby beamed as she watched Clarke stand between Lexa and her father, talking rapidly. “I just want her to be happy.”

“They look good together. And she has her father…”

Tilting her head up to look at him, Abby said, “And I have you.” She let her words linger in the air before placing a hand on his cheek and kissing him.

 

* * *

 

Lexa walked proudly into the throne room at dusk, her head held high. Tonight she was not wearing her armor. Tonight, she had donned a dress of dark red and painted her face with strips of black and her hair tumbled loosely down her back. Her arms were bare and her tattoos exposed. And she wore the smallest smile.

Candles lit the room as the leaders of her coalition stood around in a semi-circle. They faced her throne where Titus was waiting for her. She stood in front of them and waited for those who would be following behind her. Clarke led her people in. Her mother and Kane came behind her and the rest of her friends followed them. Clarke, Abby, and Kane stood before the throne while the others mixed in with the crowd.

Clarke looked beautiful in a dress of her own. Lexa had picked it out. Both Abby and Kane wore Skaikru attire, but Clarke was dressed as a grounder. Clarke gave Lexa a small smile before kneeling before her. Abby and Kane knelt as well and the rest of the room soon followed suit.

Lexa looked out at the room and addressed her people, “Hail, warriors of the twelve clans!”

“Hail, commander of the blood!” They called back.

“Rise and welcome Skaikru to our halls in the spirit of friendship and harmony.” Lexa waited until everyone had gotten to their feet before she continued, this time looking only at Clarke. “We are gathered here to initiate Skaikru into the coalition as the thirteenth clan. To symbolize this union, the leader of Skaikru must bear our mark.”

Abby reached out and squeezed Kane’s hand before he stepped forward to say, “I represent Skaikru.”

A man beside the throne pulled a metal rod from a fire, the circular tip burning red hot. Kane rolled up his sleeve and presented his arm. A strangled gasp slipped from his lips as the grounder pressed the brand into his arm. Once it was done, Kane knelt before Lexa and pledged, “Ai badan klin kom kongeda.”

“Yu kik raun kom kongeda, yu wan op kom kongeda!” cried Lexa in response.

All gathered in the hall replied, “Yu kik raun kom kongeda, yu wan op kom kongeda!”

Lexa stepped down from her throne and walked behind the dais to the balcony. Titus followed first and then came Kane, Clarke, and Abby. A few others filled the space behind them. Gathered below, glowing in the light of fires and the setting sun, Lexa’s people had gathered: all thirteen tribes. They were too high for anyone to hear her if she spoke, so Lexa grasped Kane’s arm, the one that had been freshly branded with his loyalty, and raised it in the air with her own. The people cheered below, raising their own arms in celebration.

Releasing Kane’s hand, Lexa turned to Clarke with a smile. “The future is ours, Klark kom Skaikru.”

Translation:  
Ai badan klin kom kongeda: I swear loyalty to the coalition  
Yu kik raun kom kongeda, yu wan op kom kongeda: Live by the coalition, die by the coalition.


End file.
